Meta has been a hotbed of controversy, and yet another lawsuit has been chucked at the company. A new class action lawsuit accuses the Facebook company of continuously tracking iPhone users, despite plenty of privacy features from Apple.
While we’ve all somewhat accepted that our privacy will always be compromised online, the accusations that were made are disturbing. Could this lawsuit mean more privacy safety from social media platforms going forward? Or is this more exploitation we’ll make ourselves get used to?
Is Meta stalking us?
According to Bloomberg Law, a lawsuit against Meta was filed last Wednesday in San Francisco federal court for iPhone violation. The class action lawsuit claims that the Facebook company is in direct violation of Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) policy.
Most apps on the iPhone use Safari to open them but Meta has implemented a custom-made in-app browser for Facebook and Instagram. Because of this, the company is able to use a tracking JavaScript code called "Meta Pixel" that follows what we do.
iPhone users who use Facebook and Instagram can have their keyboard inputs and actions tracked by the social media giant. It’s also been stated that the company monitors user interactions on Instagram, from text inputs to even credit card information.
Read More: The most popular Metaverse hosts its first wedding
Meta's response
Responding to this huge class action lawsuit, Meta issued a statement to MacRumors, claiming that the allegations are “without merit.” Furthermore, the company claims that they respect the privacy of users and will defend themselves vigorously throughout, for whatever that’s worth.
“These allegations are without merit and we will defend ourselves vigorously. We have designed our in-app browser to respect users' privacy choices, including how data may be used for ads,” claimed a Meta spokesperson.