Canada versus Facebook: Legal Suits Begin!

Yes, Facebook is now facing legal suits over it’s privacy issues! A Toronto based lawfirm, known for previous suits over breast implants and chocolate makers, has just launched a new class action lawsuit against Facebook, where they’ve alleged that Facebook has mishanded sensitive user data–the latest development in a resurgence of action against the social network’s privacy policies!

Am I surprised? Nope, not a bit. Am I a Facebook user, personally and commercially? Yes, I am. Do I think that the site does have privacy issues that are as yet, unresolved? Yes I do. Do I think the lawsuit, as described, has any merit? Um….that’s the question, eh?

The suit alleges that Facebook changed user privacy settings and its terms of service without adequate consent from users, rendering a significant amount of information public to the Web when it had once been protected. The lead plaintiff is a Winnipeg, Manitoba, resident named Donald J. Woligroski, and the complaint alleges that he “has been subject to, inter alia, breach of privacy and the misappropriation of his personal information and, in the addition or alternative, the conversion of said information for commercial use through the materially deceptive conduct of the Defendant”–that defendant being Facebook.

 However as you may remember, Facebook has already been under scrutiny by our own Canuck Privacy Commissioner who looked into their privacy controls and took issue with same forcing Facebook to make some modifications to same….and with over 40+% of all Canadians having a Facebook account, that’s a good thing, I think, especially as we’re always thinking about Canadian SEO!

While the actual merit of that suit, must be decided on the allegations and their factual basis by some judge somewhere yet to be determined, there is one more item I’d like to point out. That this Toronto based lawfirm, has listed on their site a lot of “class action” suits against everyone from “…numerous pharmaceutical companies, toy manufacturers, telecommunications companies that charged for 911 emergency calls, and “chocolate producers (who) conspired to keep chocolate prices in Canada artificially high…”

Hmm…that makes an impresssion on me, but postitive or negative….jury’s still out on that one, eh?

Links to various news sources on same are here ~

• http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/facebook_faces_litigation_onslaught_over_privacy_issues/
• http://www.slaw.ca/2010/07/04/the-canadian-facebook-privacy-class-action/
• http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-20009956-36.html