Isle lawsuit is latest against Facebook

Facebook has been tagged in a lawsuit by a Hawaii woman alleging violations of federal wiretap law.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Honolulu, is the latest in a string of lawsuits nationwide that make similar allegations against the California-based company.

Plaintiff Cynthia D. Quinn, who is represented by former state Attorney General Margery Bronster, is requesting that the case be considered a class-action lawsuit.

"She felt strongly about some of these issues," Bronster said. "When she decided to file suit, we were very happy to represent her."

Quinn is interim associate dean for student services at the University of Hawaii at Manoa law school. She was a special assistant to Bronster in the attorney general’s office.

The lawsuit is similar to those filed in recent weeks in other states, including Kentucky, California and Louisiana. They all stem from the recent revelation that Facebook placed programs known as tracking cookies on the Web browsers of its users to trace their Internet activity, even if they are not logged on to Facebook.

"We believe this complaint is without merit, and we will fight it vigorously," Andrew Noyes, manager for public policy communications at Facebook, said in an email to the Star-Advertiser.

All of the cases seek to represent more than 150 million Facebook users in the United States. The suits were filed under a provision of the federal Wiretap Act that prohibits interception of wire, oral or electronic communications.

Quinn’s lawsuit asks that Facebook be ordered to stop placing cookies on members’ browsers. She is also seeking damages of $100 each day "the class members’ data was wrongfully obtained," or $10,000 per violation, along with other punitive damages.

When the controversy initially surfaced, Facebook stated it only does what every site on the Internet does: personalize content by placing tracking cookies on the user’s computer. Cookies are used to send information between the user’s browser and the website of the cookie’s origin.

Facebook’s "Like" button and other features have been integrated across the Web, tracking user preference for news, entertainment, services and other topics. The issue is addressed in Facebook’s Help Center.

"For example, because you’re not logged in to Facebook, we don’t receive your user ID," the Help Center states. "We do receive the Web page you’re visiting, the date and time and other browser-related information. We record this information for a limited amount of time to help improve our products."

Facebook states that it deletes or "anonymizes" the information received within 90 days and that it does not sell the information to advertisers or share it without user permission.

Bronster said the case might be integrated with the other lawsuits filed, which is why she wanted to file in Hawaii.

"We think it’s important for the people of Hawaii to have a voice," Bronster said. "We do have specific rights within Hawaii that give people privacy, and we believe this is a clear violation of not only the federal wiretap law, but Hawaii law."

Last month, 10 civil liberty and privacy groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Privacy Information Center, wrote a letter to the Federal Trade Commission calling for an investigation into Facebook’s practices.

"By concealing the company’s tracking of users’ post-logout activity and materially changing the framework under which users share data without providing a clear opportunity for user to maintain existing privacy protections, Facebook is engaging in unfair and deceptive trade practices," the letter stated.

All of this attention on Facebook’s cookies is "much ado about nothing," said local social media expert Ryan Ozawa, co-host of Hawaii Public Radio’s "Bytemarks Cafe," a tech radio show.

"I’m kind of annoyed that we’re finding reasons to sue them for things that they do on accident, when we should be worried about the stuff they do on purpose," Ozawa said, referring to Facebook’s integration of features across a multitude of websites. "They’re becoming a monopoly in terms of identity on the Internet."

Ozawa pointed to a website called "Take This Lollipop," which asks for your permission to connect to your Facebook account, and features a man who thumbs through your personal information. Ozawa said he’s not a fan of Facebook nor of its massive integration across the Web, despite the firm’s boasting more than 800 million users worldwide.

"It’s the restaurant that you don’t like at all, but your friends all hang out there," said Ozawa, who has more than 3,000 friends on Facebook, which he joined in 2005. "I’m going to put up with the bad food because of all my friends."