Frances Haugen’s lawyers filed two new SEC complaints
By Emma Roth Updated Feb 20, 2022
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Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for TIME
Facebook is the subject of two new Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) complaints filed by Whistleblower Aid, the nonprofit that represents Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, first reported by The Washington Post. The complaints accuse Facebook, now Meta, of misleading investors about its efforts to tackle misinformation about climate change and COVID-19.
Facebook is the subject of two new Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) complaints filed by Whistleblower Aid, the nonprofit that represents Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, first reported by The Washington Post. The complaints accuse Facebook, now Meta, of misleading investors about its efforts to tackle misinformation about climate change and COVID-19.
THE COMPLAINT ALLEGES A PROMINENT PRESENCE OF CLIMATE CHANGE MISINFORMATION
The first complaint, obtained by The Washington Post, alleges the presence of readily available climate change misinformation on Facebook, making Facebook’s claims that it’s fighting climate denial fall flat. It also contains internal documents detailing employees’ own experiences with climate-related falsehoods on the platform. As noted by The Post, one employee reports searching for “climate change” in the Watch tab and then seeing a video that promotes “climate misinfo” as the second result. The video in question has reportedly garnered 6.6 million views. Another employee allegedly urged the company to remove climate misinformation, rather than merely label posts with potential falsehoods.
The complaint also mentions Facebook’s Climate Science Information Center, a hub for credible climate change information the platform launched in 2020. As reported by The Post, the complaint references internal records that claim user awareness of the hub was “very low,” suggesting it may not have had its intended reach. Last year, Meta attempted to bolster its Climate Science Information Center with additional quizzes, videos, and facts. A study conducted months later found that climate change denial has become even more widespread on the platform.
The second complaint alleges Facebook’s promise to combat COVID-19 misinformation didn’t align with its actions. According to The Post, the complaint cites an internal document showing a 20 percent increase in misinformation in April 2020, as well as a May 2020 record in which employees point out the presence of hundreds of anti-quarantine groups. Last July, President Joe Biden accused Facebook and other social platforms of “killing people” with misinformation about COVID-19 and its vaccines.
“We’ve directed more than 2 billion people to authoritative public health information and continue to remove false claims about vaccines, conspiracy theories, and misinformation,” Meta spokesperson Drew Pusateri said in an emailed statement to The Verge. “There are no one-size-fits-all solutions to stopping the spread of misinformation, but we’re committed to building new tools and policies to combat it.”
Haugen leaked a trove of internal Facebook documents — dubbed the Facebook Papers — to the Wall Street Journal last year. She has since testified before Congress to discuss possible changes to Section 230, the law that shields websites from legal accountability for illegal content that users may post.
The SEC didn’t immediately respond to The Verge’s request for comment.
Meta's Facebook to pay $120 million to settle decade-old privacy lawsuit over user tracking
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French watchdog says Google Analytics poses data privacy risks
The lawsuit was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, which cited a person familiar with the matter as saying that the state was seeking hundreds of billions of dollars in civil penalties.
Asked about the lawsuit, a Meta spokesman said: "These claims are without merit and we will defend ourselves vigorously."
The company said in a blog post in November that it was shutting down a facial recognition system and would delete more than a billion people's information. It cited concerns about use of the technology and uncertainty over what the rules are regarding its use.
It also agreed to pay US$650 million in 2020 to settle an Illinois state lawsuit that dealt with similar concerns.
The new lawsuit, which was filed in a state court in Marshall, Texas, says that 20.5 million Texans have a Facebook account.
"The scope of Facebook's misconduct is staggering," the lawsuit said. "Facebook repeatedly captured Texans' biometric identifiers without consent not hundreds, or thousands, or millions of times - but billions of times," the lawsuit said.
Users say the Meta Platforms unit used plug-ins to store cookies that tracked when they visited outside websites containing Facebook "like" buttons.
PHOTO: REUTERS
PUBLISHED
FEB 17, 2022
NEW YORK (REUTERS) - Facebook agreed to pay US$90 million (S$121 million) to settle a decade-old privacy lawsuit accusing it of tracking users' Internet activity even after they logged out of the social media website.
A proposed preliminary settlement was filed on Monday night (Feb 14) with the United States District Court in San Jose, California, and requires a judge's approval. The accord also requires Facebook to delete data it collected improperly.
Users accused the Meta Platforms unit of violating federal and state privacy and wiretapping laws by using plug-ins to store cookies that tracked when they visited outside websites containing Facebook "like" buttons.
Facebook then allegedly compiled users' browsing histories into profiles that it sold to advertisers.
The case had been dismissed in June 2017, but was revived in April 2020 by a federal appeals court, which said users could try to prove that the Menlo Park, California-based company profited unjustly and violated their privacy.
Facebook's subsequent effort to persuade the US Supreme Court to take up the case was unsuccessful.
The company denied wrongdoing but settled to avoid the costs and risks of a trial, according to settlement papers.
Settling "is in the best interest of our community and our shareholders and we're glad to move past this issue", Meta spokesman Drew Pusateri said in an e-mail.
The settlement covers Facebook users in the US who between April 22, 2010 and Sept. 26, 2011 visited non-Facebook websites that displayed Facebook's "like" button.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs plan to seek legal fees of up to US$26.1 million, or 29 per cent, from the settlement fund. The lawsuit began in February 2012.
Facebook has faced other privacy complaints.
In July 2019, it agreed to bolster privacy safeguards in a US Federal Trade Commission settlement that also included a US$5 billion fine.
Texas sues Facebook
On Monday, Texas' attorney general's office sued Meta's Facebook, alleging that the social media giant violated state privacy protections with facial-recognition technology that collected the biometric data of millions of Texans without their consent.
The lawsuit accuses Facebook of capturing biometric information from photos and videos that users uploaded without consent, disclosing the information to others and failing to destroy it within a reasonable time.
"This is yet another example of Big Tech's deceitful business practices and it must stop. I will continue to fight for Texans' privacy and security," Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement.
PUBLISHED
FEB 17, 2022
NEW YORK (REUTERS) - Facebook agreed to pay US$90 million (S$121 million) to settle a decade-old privacy lawsuit accusing it of tracking users' Internet activity even after they logged out of the social media website.
A proposed preliminary settlement was filed on Monday night (Feb 14) with the United States District Court in San Jose, California, and requires a judge's approval. The accord also requires Facebook to delete data it collected improperly.
Users accused the Meta Platforms unit of violating federal and state privacy and wiretapping laws by using plug-ins to store cookies that tracked when they visited outside websites containing Facebook "like" buttons.
Facebook then allegedly compiled users' browsing histories into profiles that it sold to advertisers.
The case had been dismissed in June 2017, but was revived in April 2020 by a federal appeals court, which said users could try to prove that the Menlo Park, California-based company profited unjustly and violated their privacy.
Facebook's subsequent effort to persuade the US Supreme Court to take up the case was unsuccessful.
The company denied wrongdoing but settled to avoid the costs and risks of a trial, according to settlement papers.
Settling "is in the best interest of our community and our shareholders and we're glad to move past this issue", Meta spokesman Drew Pusateri said in an e-mail.
The settlement covers Facebook users in the US who between April 22, 2010 and Sept. 26, 2011 visited non-Facebook websites that displayed Facebook's "like" button.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs plan to seek legal fees of up to US$26.1 million, or 29 per cent, from the settlement fund. The lawsuit began in February 2012.
Facebook has faced other privacy complaints.
In July 2019, it agreed to bolster privacy safeguards in a US Federal Trade Commission settlement that also included a US$5 billion fine.
Texas sues Facebook
On Monday, Texas' attorney general's office sued Meta's Facebook, alleging that the social media giant violated state privacy protections with facial-recognition technology that collected the biometric data of millions of Texans without their consent.
The lawsuit accuses Facebook of capturing biometric information from photos and videos that users uploaded without consent, disclosing the information to others and failing to destroy it within a reasonable time.
"This is yet another example of Big Tech's deceitful business practices and it must stop. I will continue to fight for Texans' privacy and security," Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement.
French watchdog says Google Analytics poses data privacy risks
The lawsuit was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, which cited a person familiar with the matter as saying that the state was seeking hundreds of billions of dollars in civil penalties.
Asked about the lawsuit, a Meta spokesman said: "These claims are without merit and we will defend ourselves vigorously."
The company said in a blog post in November that it was shutting down a facial recognition system and would delete more than a billion people's information. It cited concerns about use of the technology and uncertainty over what the rules are regarding its use.
It also agreed to pay US$650 million in 2020 to settle an Illinois state lawsuit that dealt with similar concerns.
The new lawsuit, which was filed in a state court in Marshall, Texas, says that 20.5 million Texans have a Facebook account.
"The scope of Facebook's misconduct is staggering," the lawsuit said. "Facebook repeatedly captured Texans' biometric identifiers without consent not hundreds, or thousands, or millions of times - but billions of times," the lawsuit said.
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