Wiretap claims fail against Facebook, Zynga in disclosure lawsuit

A US appeals court dismissed federal wiretap claims against Facebook and Zynga in a civil lawsuit over disclosure of user information to advertisers. In a separate ruling, the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals also revived breach of contract claims under state law against Facebook over the information disclosures.

Representatives for Facebook and Zynga could not immediately be reached for comment. Users of Facebook and Zynga filed separate class action lawsuits against the companies in 2010 that have been consolidated on appeal.

The plaintiffs claimed that when they clicked on a Zynga game or a Facebook ad, advertisers and other third parties received their Facebook IDs and Facebook page address, court filings show. In its opinion, a unanimous three-judge 9th Circuit panel ruled that the plaintiffs could not bring civil wiretap claims against the two companies because the information allegedly disclosed to advertisers did not qualify as the "contents of a communication" under the law.