It’s no secret that Facebook use your personal data for their own use and sometimes for something you may not like. And of late Facebook’s public image has deteriorated from those that created the epic trend of social media to the villains that take your personal data and use it for their own gain.Recently it came to light that in 2012 Facebook carried out a research where they were literally altering users’ emotions by showing them negative stories on their time lines to see if this would affect their posts. This triggered uproar but the slick Facebook avoided any serious repercussions saying the terms of service agreement allows them to carry out such a research.
But they cannot get away with everything they do because now 25,000 Facebook users have come together to launch a class action suit against the social media giant.
Facebook user, Max Schrems, who started the suit alleges that Facebook had been violating users' privacy and as a result started a campaign to get support for the law suit but did not expect to get as much support as he did.
"We hoped for broad support, but the number ... has exceeded my most optimistic expectations," said Austrian law student Schrems, who launched his class action only last Thursday. He’s now been forced to close the list of plaintiffs because of the huge number.
Schrems is claiming damages of 500 euros ($667) per user for alleged data violations by Facebook, including by aiding the U.S. National Security Agency in running its PRISM program, which mined the personal data of users of Facebook and other web services.
It is now that many Facebook users are not happy with the service and their blurred lines when it comes to privacy. Recently Britain's data watchdog has begun investigating the legality of a Facebook experiment on unwitting users in 2012.
[PROPS REUTERS]
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