No class-action suit against Facebook for selling personal information to advertisers

Facebook users claimed that the social network “automatically and surreptitiously” disclosed information to advertisers in case the users clicked on ads. They accused Facebook to pass on information such as how they are using the website. This approach could be seen as “contrary to Facebook’s explicit privacy promises.”

However, Facebook just defeated these accusations of a group lawsuit as a judge ruled that the plaintiffs did not have enough in common to pursue a class-action (Facebook Privacy Litigation, 10-cv-02389, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California).

In the past, lawsuits against Facebook and other internt companies concerning data protection issues were unsuccesful due to the fact that the plaintiffs have not been able to demonstrate how disclosures to third parties harmed them. In case the lawsuits went further, the respective company has won the case at later stages so that no class-action suits have been developed.