On Monday, the US Supreme Court declined to hear a Facebook appeal that would have thrown out a $15 billion lawsuit over, if the company illegally tracked users a decade ago. The nation’s highest court has denied Facebook’s request to review a California federal court’s decision to allow the lawsuit accusing the company of violating wiretap laws. A request for comment from Facebook was not returned.
It was argued in court filings that it was a legitimate “party” to digital content exchanges involving software tools like “like” or “share” buttons embedded in other websites. In a legal filing, Facebook stated thatrather than eavesdropping on a separate communication, the communication with Facebook contained distinct content intended for Facebook. Wiretap laws in the United States make it illegal to listen in on electronic communications unless you are a party to the conversation.
According to the lawsuit, Facebook improperly tracked users away from the social network and then profited from the data by selling it to advertisers for ad targeting. The class action lawsuit, which was filed in 2011 and early 2012 in a number of the US states, consolidated more than 20 similar cases and seeks more than $15 billion on behalf of members of the world’s largest social network. Since then, Facebook has changed the way it uses software snippets ‘like and share’ buttons to collect data about users’ online activities.
Allowing the case to continue would have sweeping and harmful effects, according to the Silicon Valley tech giant. Facebook has been chastised by critics and regulators for its handling of user data.
