Facebook Inc., the world’s most popular social-networking service, must face a lawsuit in which it’s accused of giving advertisers personal information about users who clicked on ads.
U.S. District Judge James Ware in San Jose, California, yesterday threw out most of the claims against Facebook, giving the plaintiffs a chance to refile five of the eight dismissed. Ware rejected Facebook’s argument that the entire lawsuit should be dismissed because the users didn’t show an injury sufficient to bring the case.
“The court finds that plaintiffs have alleged facts sufficient to establish that they have suffered the injury required for standing,” Ware wrote in his ruling.
The plaintiffs claim in the lawsuit that, when Facebook users click on advertisements, their identification or usernames are transmitted to the advertisers. Advertisers can obtain users’ names, genders and pictures without their consent, the plaintiffs said.
Andrew Noyes, a Facebook spokesman, didn’t immediately return an e-mail seeking comment after regular business hours yesterday.
Facebook, which has more than 500 million members, has faced criticism that it doesn’t protect the privacy of users, especially young people. Last month, the company announced additional safety tools, including a redesigned “Family Safety Center” that has videos and articles for teenagers, parents and teachers.
Facebook, based in Palo Alto, California is also among the Internet companies under scrutiny in the European Union for possible privacy-rule breaches over their use of personal data.
The case is In re Facebook, 10-02389, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (San Jose).
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