A B.C. entrepreneur is launching a class action lawsuit against social media giant Facebook over what she alleges is a "high-handed"and "reckless" breach of privacy laws.
Deborah Douez, videographer and owner of Video4Web Productions, filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court of British Columbia on behalf of all B.C. residents who are Facebook members and whose name or portrait has been used by Facebook in a "sponsored story" without their consent.
"Facebook's use of the plaintiff and class members' names or portraits without consent was high-handed, outrageous, wanton, reckless, callous, disgraceful, wilful and entirely without care for the plaintiffs and class members' statutory right to control the use of their own names or portraits, and as such renders Facebook liable to pay punitive damages," according to the notice of claim filed on March 29.
The allegations have not yet been proven in court.
The company introduced "sponsored stories" last year as a form of advertising which uses a Facebook member's name or portrait to endorse goods or services of a third-party advertiser to a member's friends without their consent, according to lawsuit.
Sponsored stories are triggered when a user clicks the "like" button on Facebook in connection with a group or company and its goods or services. "Checking in" on Facebook to a physical location linked to an advertiser or using an App connected with a sponsor also generates a "sponsored story" which is featured in a sidebar on the right-hand side of users' news feeds.
"In so doing Facebook authors and creates a unique and new advertisement through the rearrangement of text and images which then features the Member as an endorser, marketer or advertiser of a third party good or service," it said.
Among damages sought, Douez is seeking an injunction preventing Facebook from using users' names and portraits in advertising without "written consent" declaration that its use of sponsored stories breached British Columbia's privacy laws which prohibit unauthorized use of an individual's name or portrait.
In 2009, Facebook added new privacy safeguards after Canada's privacy commissioner launched an investigation into complaints about the company sharing users' personal information with application developers.
In December 2011, there were 845 million monthly active Facebook users. About 80 per cent of its monthly active users were outside Canada and the U.S.
Postmedia News
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