Facebook is currently looking to go after companies because of fake likes and comments on the social media platform. According to the Search Engine Journal's latest report, the social media company is filing lawsuits against companies in the United States and Europe for using unauthorized automation software.
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Legal action will be taken by Facebook against the software companies accused of distributing fake comments and likes across the social media platform, including Instagram. The incident is considered as the first one for a social media company to use coordinated, multi-jurisdictional litigation after Facebook filed separate lawsuits in Europe and the United States to enforce its Terms of Service.
U.S. Facebook is currently seeking injunctions to reinforce a permanent ban against the companies' use of Instagram and Facebook after the social media platform accused them of violating the laws of Spain.
US and European under fire from Facebook
According to Search Engine Journal, the lawsuit file by Facebook in the United States is against Massroot8, a company operating a data scraping service that has ties to California. It was reported that after Facebook users provided their login information, Massroot8 scraped their user data.
A computer program was used by the company to control networks of bots that were connected to the official Facebook app disguised as Android devices. It was noted in the report that the Facebook users were not aware of the activity. Massroot8's users were tricked into signing up for the service. Providing a fake service allowed them to manage multiple Facebook accounts at the same time.
They were not aware that their login information was being used for the purpose of gathering data. Facebook is specifically suing Mohammad Zaghar, the founder of the company who was reported to operate sites selling fake follows and likes before starting Massroot 8, in San Francisco.
5,500 Facebook accounts were included in the court documents, which were accessed by Massroot8. The act is considered not only a violation of Facebook's Terms of Service, but also a violation of the Compute Fraud and Abuse Act.
The second lawsuit filed in Europe is against MGP25 Cyberprint Services, a company based in Spain. According to Dun and Bradstreet's report, the company is accused of fake engagement services selling comments and likes, generates less than $100,000 in annual revenue.
The two cases show that the social media platform is willing to take legal action against companies, big or small, that violate its Terms of Service.
