New Lawsuit Accuses Facebook Of “Side-Stepping” Apple Privacy Protections To Collect User Data

Facebook’s business took a big hit last year when Apple introduced an iOS update that forced the social media giant and all app developers to obtain user consent before tracking them around the web. Since Facebook derives much of its revenue from collecting our data, many experts wondered what the company would do in response. And according to allegations being brought in a class action suit this week, the company has found a way to work around Apple’s rules.

Two Facebook users are suing the company for allegedly tracking their activity through its in-app browser instead of their default browsers. According to the suit, users “are unaware of the tracking; most do not even realize they are browsing the third-party website from within Facebook’s in-app browser. Therefore, users freely engage with these sites, sharing all manner of personal facts and preferences, without having reason to know they are being tracked.”

For its part, Facebook said it would “vigorously” challenge the suit, denying that any such activity is taking place.

“We have carefully designed our in-app browser to respect users’ privacy choices, including how data may be used for ads,” a Facebook spokesperson told USA Today.

Of course, only one of these stories can be true, and it will all come to light during this case. But regardless of the outcome, this suit shows how much users fundamentally distrust Facebook to handle their data.




Recommended Resources

bitdefender Choose what the experts use: award-winning cybersecurity you can trust and rely on.

PIA Surf the web truly incognito. Try Bitdefender Premium VPN, the ultra-fast VPN that keeps your online identity and activities safe from hackers, ISPs and snoops.

System Mechanic 14 – Make your computer run like new. Winner of 200+ Editor’s Choice awards!

Facebook Experimenting With Letting Users Help Write Content Moderation Policies Previous post Facebook Experimenting With Letting Users Help Write Content Moderation Policies Orchestrated Bot Attack Harvests Facebook User Data Next post Orchestrated Bot Attack Harvests Facebook User Data