U.S. Supreme Court Won't Review Case of Facebook Tracking User Activity
The U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition to review a case that claimed Facebook allegedly violated privacy and wiretapping laws by tracking users’ internet activity after they exited the social media platform. The ruling rejected questions proposed by an objector to the $90 million settlement in the case relating to the attorney fees and plaintiff service awards.
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The case, In re: Facebook Internet Tracking Litigation, began in 2012 when plaintiff Jane Piddicord filed a class action complaint alleging Facebook tracked its users' visits to websites even when they were not logged in to Facebook. It was alleged Facebook deployed this information for targeted marketing, a violation of the Electronic Communication Privacy Act of 1986.
In March 2021, SCOTUS denied the first petition for a writ of certiorari. Months later, in November 2022, the U.S. District Court for Northern California ordered final approval of a $90 million class action settlement. Facebook agreed to the settlement, though it denied wrongdoing.