Facebook is no stranger to massive privacy lawsuits here in the US. Just recently, the company had to settle with millions of Illinois users for illegally collecting and storing their biometric data through its facial recognition technology. And now, the social media giant may be facing a similar legal firestorm from our neighbors to the north. This week, a Canadian Supreme Court judge ruled that the court has jurisdiction to hear a class-action suit against Facebook alleging that the company inappropriately used users’ profiles in sponsored stories advertising.

“Members of the class did not expressly or impliedly consent to Facebook’s use of their likenesses in sponsored stories,” Justice Nitya Iyer said. “Facebook’s use of class members’ likenesses was for a purpose prohibited by the four privacy statutes… I conclude that Facebook’s use of users’ names and profile pictures in sponsored Stories breached (a terms of use clause) and cannot establish consent.”

Of course, none of these allegations have been proven in court, and the case itself is still taking shape. However, it’s notable that a judge sanctioned this case so strongly right off the bat. Regardless of the outcome, cases like this challenging Facebook’s right to our data are becoming increasingly common — and that’s a great thing for user privacy.

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