While Facebook claims that privacy is its utmost importance when it comes to protecting its users, it is now being sued for secretly scanning private messages sent between its users in order to deliver targeted advertising. The class-action lawsuit is demanding US$10,000 (about RM34,890) from Facebook
Facebook, however, insists that what it is doing is completely legal, citing that it is protected under an exception in the Electronic Communications Privacy Act.
The company argues that these message scannings are legal if they occur over the “ordinary course of a service provider’s business.” The judge handling the case, however, said that Mark Zuckerberg and Co. failed to detail how the scans are considered the “ordinary course” of its business.
A Facebook spokesperson declined to comment about the lawsuit when contacted by Engadget. In either case, the outcome of this lawsuit should affect how Facebook handles its users privacy in the future.
(Source: Engadget)
