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Facebook Sued Over Tracking Cookies
A Facebook user in Illinois has filed a federal lawsuit against the social networking giant, claiming it violated wiretap laws, among other things, with a tracking cookie that records web browsing history after logging off of Facebook. The suit is currently seeking class action status for the 150 million users of Facebook in the United States.
It is Facebook’s position that the lawsuit is without merit and the use of cookies does not amount to a security or privacy breach. While Facebook admits that it personalizes content by putting cookie files on user computers that remain even when users are logged out, it is diligent in removing uniquely identifying data from post-logout cookies and it does not store or use that cookie for tracking.
This comes hot on the heels of other privacy related issues faced by Facebook, including:
1. An investigation into Facebook’s privacy-related activities by the Irish data protection commissioner following complaints by privacy groups in Europe; and
2. A collection of advocacy groups asking the United States’ Federal Trade Commission to ban Facebook’s “frictionless sharing” and new Timeline features.
For additional information, please visit:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-27080_3-20114163-245/facebook-sued-over-tracking-users-after-logout/?tag=mncol