Kiley Grombacher of Bradley/Grombacher LLP have filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of Apple users who allege Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta still tracks their activity on their iPhones even though they “opted out” of tracking.
The lawsuit, filed in US Federal Court, claims Meta violated the Invasion of Privacy Act and the Wiretap Act.
The plaintiffs in the case claim they had the Facebook, Instagram or Messenger app on their iPhones but had their private browsing activity and communications intercepted, monitored, and recorded by the Meta browsers.
In April of 2021, Apple introduced an iOS 14 update that required Meta (and other apps) to obtain a user’s consent before tracking their internet activity on apps and third-party websites. According to Facebook alone, this caused a revenue loss of $10 billion.
Now, however, the lawsuit alleges that even when users do not consent to being tracked, Meta nevertheless tracks Facebook and Instagram users’ online activity with external third-party websites.
The lawsuit claims Meta does this by injecting JavaScript code into those sites and when a user clicks on a web link within the Facebook, Instagram or Messenger app, Meta automatically directs them to in-app browsers which it monitors. This is in place of the user’s preferred or default browser.
The lawsuit alleges Meta does all of this without the user’s consent or knowledge. This activity gives Meta access to the user’s most private information including text messages, private health details, financial information, personally identifiable information and more.
“Meta is valued at over $80 billion, when a corporation of that size flaunts state and federal laws, citizens have little to no recourse,” said Kiley Grombacher.
“Despite previous lawsuits, despite being taken to task by Congress, and despite public outcry, Meta continues to abuse its users by stealing their private information and turning anyone unsuspecting users of Facebook or Instagram into profit centres whether the user agrees to it or not.”
The case is Larch- Miller v. Meta Platforms, Inc., U.S. District Court California Northern District, Case No. 3:22-cv-05426. You can read the complaint here.
