The state of California recently passed a sweeping new privacy law that offers stronger data protections for its residents. However, Facebook is not changing its web tracking practices in response to it, and is telling its advertisers that it’s exempt from the terms.

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which went into effect January 1, companies are not allowed to sell data that web trackers collect. However, Facebook thinks it can skirt around the rule by claiming they are a “service provider,” acting as nothing more than a middleman that delivers data to clients. However, many privacy experts and advocates are unconvinced that the social media giant will be able to get away with this argument.

“When a website delivers massive volumes of personal information to Facebook, that’s a sale under the CCPA,” said Jacob Snow, a technology and civil liberties attorney for the ACLU of Northern California. “Facebook’s plans to disregard the law is but another example demonstrating that industry will do anything to protect their bottom line at the expense of Californians’ rights.”

As usual with Facebook, it’s pushing the envelope to see how far it can go collecting user data. Here’s hoping these experts are right and the company gets reined back in.

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