Facebook loses appeal in $19.7bn lawsuit over ‘Like’ button tracking

Accused of secretly tracking people even when they’re not on Facebook, the company could pay close to $20 billion after losing an appeal.

Facebook has lost an appeal against a $US15 billion ($A19.7 billion) lawsuit that’s accusing it of illegally tracking its users across the internet.

The US Supreme Court has rejected Facebook’s wishes to reduce the lawsuit, which has accused Facebook of tracking people even when they’re not logged in.

Facebook is accused of violating the Wiretap Act, which is a federal law, and violating user privacy rights under California law.

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Facebook lost its appeal in a case that stretches over a decade. Picture: Chris Delmas/AFP

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The nationwide lawsuit was filed by four individuals who want Facebook to pay $US15 billion ($A19.7 billion) in damages for actions between April 2010 and September 2011.

They say Facebook was secretly tracking user activity when people went to websites that use features such as the Facebook “Like” button.

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Facebook’s ‘Like’ button embedded on third-party websites may have been used to secretly track user activity.

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Facebook is then accused of using the information collected for advertising purposes and selling data to advertisers for profit.

The court papers say Facebook stopped non-consensual tracking in 2011.

Facebook is adamant that it protects user privacy and should not have to face liability for common practices.

Websites sometimes have Facebook “plug-ins” that are features which track browsing history.

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Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg. Picture: Samuel Corum/Getty Images

Plug-ins like this are why you might view an item of clothing and then start seeing it advertised on every other website you click on.

Facebook says it didn‘t violate the Wiretap Act because it wasn’t secretly collecting the data.

It said: “Facebook was not an uninvited interloper to a communication between two separate parties; it was a direct participant.”

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission