Skip to main content

Facebook is cracking down on platform abusers with a pair of new lawsuits

Facebook is taking action against those who abuse its platform with a pair of new lawsuits. 

On Thursday, the social network announced that it filed two separate lawsuits against developers for violating the company’s terms of service. The lawsuits show that Facebook is trying to send a clear message to companies that abuse its platform.

Recommended Videos

Facebook first filed a lawsuit against MobiBurn, a targeted marketing company, after it failed to comply with Facebook’s audit request. Facebook alleges that it caught the company collecting user data from Facebook by paying app developers to install a malicious software development kit (SDK) in the app. 

Kon Karampelas/Unsplash

In November, Facebook confirmed that millions of users were affected by MobiBurn’s SDK, which compromised personal information like names, email addresses, time zone, and gender. Although Facebook sent a cease-and-desist letter to the company, MobiBurn ignored it. 

“Security researchers first flagged MobiBurn’s behavior to us as part of our data abuse bounty program. We then took enforcement action, including disabling apps, sending a cease-and- desist letter, and requesting MobiBurn’s participation in an audit, as required by our policies. MobiBurn failed to fully cooperate,” Jessica Romero, director of platform enforcement and litigation at Facebook, wrote in a blog post.  

Facebook also announced a separate lawsuit against Nikolay Holper, who was operating an alleged fake engagement service known as Nakrutka to sell fake likes, comments, views, and followers on Instagram. Facebook said Hopler also did not comply with its cease-and-desist letter. 

Digital Trends reached out to MobiBurn to comment on the lawsuit. We will update this story when we hear back. 

While Facebook is usually on the other side of lawsuits, the social network did sue the domain name registrar company Namecheap in March for allowing people to register domain names that infringed on Facebook’s trademarks. 

Allison Matyus
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Allison Matyus is a general news reporter at Digital Trends. She covers any and all tech news, including issues around social…
Facebook’s new Collab music app is a fun way to play with others
Man playing the guitar

Collab is an experimental music-making app from Facebook, and the company has just launched it for folks in the U.S. with an iPhone or iPad.

We first heard about Collab in May 2020 when the social networking giant released it as an invitation-only beta.

Read more
Facebook just saved the historic site where Alan Turing cracked the Enigma code
Turing

Bletchley Park was, famously, the English country house location that doubled as a center for Allied code-breaking efforts during World War II. It was at Bletchley where a brilliant team of code-breakers, among them computer pioneer Alan Turing, helped decipher enemy codes, which ultimately helped bring the war to a faster conclusion.

On Tuesday, Facebook announced a donation of $1.3 million (1 million British pounds) to the Bletchley Park Trust, providing vital funds that will allow the site of exceptional historical importance to remain open. Like many places, Bletchley has been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, which caused its closure for several months this year.

Read more
PUBG Mobile is cracking down on cheating with new update
best guns in pubg player unknowns battleground 2020

Developers of the mobile version of PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, a popular battle royale, player vs. player shooting game, are continuing to crack down on cheaters with the latest update's in-game measures.

"The implementations address several suspicious behaviors, including assorted plug-in software, auto-aim, and other hacks, and adds new upgrades to existing preventative systems," PUBG Mobile said in a press release.

Read more