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A federal judge in California dismissed a class action case against Facebook that claimed the social media network improperly used location data.
The case was dismissed on a technicality. The plaintiff missed a deadline to amend his complaint, but it’s not the first time Judge James Donato has tossed the suit.
Brett Heeger filed his first complaint in Oct. 2018, accusing Facebook of not getting consent before collecting where its user went.
Facebook, the suit alleged, misled users into thinking they could control the data by turning it off in the settings when in reality Facebook uses it anyway, according to the initial complaint.
Facebook refuted the privacy invasion claims and argued Heeger wasn’t specifically detailing how the alleged locations were being collected after the data sharing feature was turned off.
Donato said in October that Heeger failed to provide evidence Facebook was tracking user locations beyond just logging IP addresses.
An amended complaint showed “scant improvement,” according to Donato when it was refiled in December, stating that Heeger was only summarizing news reports on Facebook location data and was unable to provide facts beyond just what he believed to be true he said.
“Few facts are alleged without the caveat of ‘on information or belief,’ or without hedging on whether Facebook actually does what Heeger accuses, or simply has the ability to do it,” Donato said.
Recently Facebook has faced a number of class action lawsuits related privacy breaches. Earlier this month Illinois announced that millions of Facebook users in there would be receiving approximately $350 each following a privacy settlement that resulted from a violation of Illinois’ biometric privacy law, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Google often faces similar allegations as Facebook. A class action lawsuit arguing similar violations of privacy with personal data was filed at around the same time Heeger began his lawsuit in October 2018. Plaintiffs in that case allege Google’s terms of service don’t properly explain what is done with user information.
Are you on Facebook? Do you disable data sharing on your Facebook account? How concerned are you about your personal data being shared? Let us know in the comments below.
The plaintiffs are represented by Sabita J. Soneji, Katherine M. Aizpuru of Tycko & Zavareei LLP; Norman E. Siegel, Barrett J. Vahle and Jillian R. Dent of Stueve Siegel Hanson LLP.
The Facebook Location Data Class Action Lawsuit is Heeger v. Facebook Inc., Case No. 3:18-cv-06399, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
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31 thoughts onJudge Slams Door on One Facebook Privacy Class Action Lawsuit
Same here
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Add me to it’s not right to take my data and my information and use it what the hell is wrong with them and the judge take his data and use it without his permission I promise you you going down the judge is going to make sure that
I get ads all the time for products i search. The rich will do whatever they can get away with if they think they can do so especially when they project the profits of doing what they will be much more than their losses in a lawsuit. I believe this is true about the rich and powerful. Our own government will sell us out to the rich and powerful. They deny the american people from benefiting from taxes the rich would have to pay in by righting off their tax debt so they can make campaign commercials. And whoever spends the most will get elected so to me thats an all out bribe. They say their bank account dont benefit but they do after they leave office. And all the other special privileges that come with being a crook. How is it right the poor right get sold off by lawmakers making laws to give the rich the upper hand in making their lives better and keeping everyone else right where they are. Everyone cant be well off or rich or wealthy. Then who would they get to do all the work. This is why our schools are underfunded in por neighborhood. And have unlimited funds in rich neighborhoods. And now the government lets everyone spy on us. Its gonna blow up in their faces once we all get tired. History proves that. The rich seem to own the rights to living lives we only dream of. And our government is selling it to them.
Add me please! I’m always getting notifications and emails about someone signing into my account or an unusual device trying to log in!
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