Earlier today the BBC posted a report on the Facebook disaster. The report notes that "It's a sensational story containing allegations of sleaze, psychological manipulation and data misuse that has provoked an internationally furious response. Tech giant Facebook and data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica are at the center of a dispute over the harvesting and use of personal data." Recode posted a report yesterday titled "Facebook has lost nearly $50 billion in market cap since the data scandal." With such an explosive story, it shouldn't come as a shock to anyone that a Class Action was filed against Facebook and Cambridge Analytica yesterday demanding US$500 million. The class action was filed in California by Lauren Price. The three causes for the action are noted below. This is likely the first of many more class actions to follow.

Causes for Action

Count 1: Violation of California's Unfair Competition Law – Unlawful Business Practice

Count 2: Violation of California's Unfair Competition Law – Unfair Business Practice

Count 3: Negligence

Summary of the Case

The following 'Summary of the Case' is directly from the court filing as follows:

"Facebook operates a social networking website that allows people to communicate with their family, friends, and coworkers. Facebook develops technologies that facilitate the sharing of information, photographs, website links, and videos. Facebook users have the ability to share and restrict information based on their own specific criteria. By the end of 2017, Facebook had more than 2.2 billion active users. The company's mission is "to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together. People use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family, to discover what's going on in the world, and to share and express what matters to them.

Cambridge Analytica is a privately held company that combines data mining and data analysis with strategic communication for use in the electoral process.

As part of the sign up process and while interacting with the network, Facebook users create profiles containing significant amounts of personal information, including their name, birthdate, hometown, address, location, interests, relationships, email address, photos, and videos, amongst others, referred to herein as Personal Information.

This case involves the absolute disregard with which Defendants have chosen to treat Plaintiff's Personal Information. While this information was supposed to be protected, and used for only expressly disclosed and limited purposes, CA, without authorization, or by exceeding whatever limited authorization it, or its agents, had, improperly collected the Personal Information of nearly 50 million Facebook users. Facebook, for its part, knew this improper data aggregation was occurring and failed to stop it, or actively avoided discovering such knowledge in order to profess supposed ignorance. Plaintiff brings this suit to protect her privacy interests and those of the class."

For more details on this case, review the full Class Action lawsuit filings below provided to you courtesy of Patently Apple  

Facebook Class Action by Jack Purcher on Scribd

Late this afternoon Facebook's CEO made a public statement. Below are video reports from both MSNBC and Fox Business News on Zuckerberg's statement. 

If I had a personal Facebook page I'd kill it in protest. The Facebook accounts that I have are for Patently Apple and Patently Mobile – so they'll remain active for now. How do you view this issue? Will you let it pass or protest by killing your account over the next month? Give us your feedback in our comment section below.

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