Los Angeles, CA: Facebook Inc. is facing a proposed Telephone Consumer protection Act (TCPA) class action lawsuit alleging the social media giant sends unwanted text messages to peoples' cellphones notifying them that their accounts have been logged into.
The $5 million complaint alleges that Facebook knowingly violated the TCPA by sending these unwanted text messages. According to the lawsuit, Facebook provides an "extra security feature"in which it sends log-in notifications to alert users when their account is accessed from a new device. However, these text messages are allegedly sent, in some cases several times a day, to peoples who haven't given Facebook authorization to do so, who have asked Facebook to stop this practice, and to people who allegedly do not even have Facebook accounts.
"ervicing over a billion Facebook accounts worldwide, Facebook' automated systems are powerful and, when used improperly, capable of extreme invasions into the privacy of American consumers,"the complaint states. "Facebook operates a sloppy system and in doing so shows complete disregard for the privacy of consumers."
According to lead plaintiff Noah Duguid, Facebook began sending text messages to his cellphone in January 2014, without his having given his cell phone number to FB, or his having had any business dealings with the social media company.
After Duguid allegedly sent the defendant a detailed email in April 2014 complaining about the messages and asking that they stop, Facebook replied with an automatic email telling him to log on to its website to report the problematic content. This continued until the following October when Duguid allegedly responded to an Facebook text using the word "off". After this, the company replied "Facebook texts are now off. Reply on to turn them back on."Regardless, the company continued to text Duguid, according to the complaint.
The proposed TCPA class action lawsuit seeks to represent a class of individuals in the U.S. who didn't give Facebook their cell number and received one or more of the accused texts within the four years before the filing of the complaint, and a class of individuals who received texts in the same time frame despite telling Facebook they didn't want them. Plaintiff seeks at least $500 in damages for each violation of the TCPA.
Duguid is represented by Trinette Kent, Sergei Lemberg and Stephen Taylor of Lemberg Law LLC. The case is Noah Duguid et al. v. Facebook Inc., case number 3:15-cv-00985, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
