Facebook Sued in Class Action That Alleges Users’ Personal Information Was Misused In An Attempt To Influence The 2016 Presidential Election

SAN JOSE, Calif., April 23, 2018 -- On April 5, 2018, the law firm of Finkelstein Thompson LLP, filed a class action lawsuit against Facebook, Inc. and Cambridge Analytica. The lawsuit, Labajo v. Facebook, Inc. et al., Case 4:18-cv-02093-KAW, alleges that in 2014, Facebook allowed a massive data breach in which the sensitive personal information of the plaintiff and 87 million Facebook users (including 71 million Americans) was misappropriated by Cambridge Analytica and other entities and used for unauthorized purposes, including attempts to influence the 2016 United States presidential election.

Allegedly, Facebook users’ data was “harvested” for Cambridge Analytica using an app called ThisIsYourDigitalLife, misleadingly billed as a “personality quiz”; and that when Facebook users were tricked into using the app, Facebook allowed the app to harvest not only those Facebook users’ personal information but also the information of their Facebook friends. The lawsuit further alleges that for years, Facebook has allowed hackers to use its own search tools to “scrape” data from virtually all Facebook users’ profiles, violating their privacy and placing them at risk for identity theft.

The lawsuit alleges Facebook falsely promised users that their personal information would be protected when, in fact, Facebook knew its security was inadequate to protect users’ data.  It also alleges Facebook had a policy of selling user data to third parties and even implemented APIs to allow third-party apps to “harvest” user information. The lawsuit seeks relief, including damages and compensation for class members, and injunctive relief to protect Facebook users’ personal information. 

If you would like to discuss your legal rights, you may contact Finkelstein Thompson LLP by email at [email protected].