How Facebook Privacy Suit Could Set New Legal Precedent
A class action law suit alleges that Facebook has violated federal and state privacy laws. While Facebook says the cases are without merit, the outcome could change the way social media companies handle user data.
Facebook has long been plagued with privacy complaints from users. The most recent accusation comes in the form of a lawsuit, alleging that Facebook is “scanning” private messages and using the data to improve marketing algorithm.
According to Bloomberg, the lawsuit alleges that this scanning is a violation of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and a California privacy law. However, the ECPA is specific to government monitoring of private digital correspondence and has nothing to do with commercial use of private data.
While a Facebook spokesperson claimed the suit was without merit, there may be some teeth to the allegation that Facebook violated a California privacy law.
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