Five Facebook users in California filed a civil
lawsuit against the company on Monday,allegingthatitviolatesprivacy laws
and misleadsmembers.
The users say the social networking site is violating the
state's privacy laws and misleading members about how their
personal information is used.
The lawsuit was filed in Orange County Superior Court and asks
for damages and legal fees. The users have requested a jury
trial.
A Facebook spokesman told Associated Press the company planned
to fight the lawsuit.
The complaint alleges that Facebook violates California privacy
and online privacy laws by disseminating personal information
posted by users to third parties. The lawsuit also alleges that
Facebook engages in data mining and harvesting without fully
disclosing those practices to its members.
It was filed on behalf of several users, including a
professional photographer, two children under 13, a user of the
original Facebook and a Los Angeles-based actress and model.
Facebook, which has more than 200 million users, has been forced
to defend several of its privacy policies.
The company announced earlier this year that it was giving users
a hand in determining some policies after tens of thousands of
members protested over who controls the information they upload to
the site. The site now allows users to review, comment and vote on
changes to privacy, ownership and sharing before they are put in
place.