A new lawsuit by Meta users alleges that the Facebook and Instagram parent company kept snooping on iOS users through a loophole in its latest privacy update.
Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the lawsuit alleges that Meta evaded Apple’s new restrictions by monitoring users through Facebook’s in-app browser, which opens links within the app. The proposed class-action lawsuit, first reported could allow anyone affected to sign on, which in Facebook’s case might mean hundreds of millions of U.S. users.
Source: Yahoo (Dado Ruvic / reuters)
Two plaintiffs behind the lawsuit alleged that Meta is not only violating Apple’s policies, but breaking privacy laws at the state and federal level, including the Wiretap Act, which made it illegal to intercept electronic communications without consent.
The plaintiffs allege that Meta follows users’ online activity by funneling them into the web browser built into Facebook and injecting JavaScript into the sites they visit. That code makes it possible for the company to monitor “every single interaction with external websites,” including where they tap, and what passwords and other text they enter.
In response, a Meta spokesperson said the allegations were “without merit” and that the company would defend itself “vigorously.” “We have carefully designed our in-app browser to respect users’ privacy choices, including how data may be used for ads,” the spokesperson said.
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