Facebook Faces Privacy Lawsuit

Five Facebook Inc. users Monday sued the social-networking site in California's Orange County Superior Court, alleging that the social networking site violates several state laws aimed at protecting consumers' privacy. The complaint accuses Facebook, of Palo Alto, of failing to compensate its users for harvesting their personal data and for violating laws that protect consumers from having information they upload to the site shared with third parties, such as advertisers. "Plaintiffs and the general public desire and expect a level of privacy, which Facebook has failed to satisfy under its current policies, procedures, practices, and technology," the complaint states. The plaintiffs, which include a photographer, an actress, and some middle school and college students, are demanding damages and attorney's fees and requesting a jury trial. In a statement, Facebook spokesman Barry Schnitt said the company sees "no merit to this suit and we plan to fight it."