Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) is confronting another class action lawsuit, which is gaining massive support from users. Austrian law student and data privacy activist, Max Schrems filed the case against the social network giant’s subsidiary in Ireland for allegedly violating European privacy laws.
Allegations against Facebook
Schrems argued that Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) is using the private information of users without their knowledge, which is a violation of the privacy law in Europe. He also accused the social network giant of cooperating with the United States government’s surveillance operation called Prism.
Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) acknowledge that it is complying with the request with U.S. government agencies for information related to national security, but the social network giant made it clear that it is not aware about the Prism before it was revealed through leaked government documents.
The lawsuit also claimed that Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) is monitoring the activities of its users on external sites through the like button and spying on users through big data systems.
In a statement, Schrems said, “We see that Facebook is violating EU privacy laws for a very long time and wanted to take action. The problem starts with a privacy policy that no one understands, [which is] invalid under EU law, up to the NSA spying scandal.”
Model case for the protection of European rights
The intention of Schrems in filing the lawsuit is to make it as a model case for the protection of European rights against technology companies that develop products that are in compliance with laws of the United States, but violates the regulations of other countries.
According to Schrems, the class action lawsuit is gaining a substantial support. He claimed that one user is signing up for every six seconds. He decided to limit the number of people signing up to join the class action lawsuit to 25,000 for him to be able to verify every account.
Schrems said Facebook users interested to participate can still register their interest in the event he decides to expand the legal case later.
Schrems filed the class action lawsuit at the Commercial Court in Vienna. The lawsuit is seeking an injunction against Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) and damages of €500 for every claimant.
Previous class action lawsuit related to alleged violation of U.S. privacy laws
Last May, the United States District Court of Appeals for the Northern District of California dismissed the case against Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) and Zynga Inc (NASDAQ:ZNGA) with prejudice on allegations that the companies violated federal privacy laws.
