Facebook Victorious in Putative Class Action Privacy Lawsuit

Munger, Tolles & Olson successfully defended Facebook, Inc. in class action lawsuit concerning user location information, earning the firm a feature in the Daily Journal’s Verdicts & Settlements series on Feb. 12, 2021.

The plaintiffs, who have profiles on Facebook’s platform, contended that Facebook continued to track, log, and store user location information, regardless of users' choices, as expressed through the settings they selected. Ultimately, plaintiffs contended that Facebook misled users and engaged in deceptive practices by collecting and storing private location data against users' expressed choice.

Facebook denied the allegations. With Munger, Tolles & Olson’s counsel, Facebook contended that plaintiffs failed to state a claim and failed to plead facts to establish Article III Standing, including because the information that was allegedly collected was limited to IP addresses, which are not confidential and do not implicate privacy concerns. Therefore, Facebook argued that the complaint should be dismissed with prejudice in its entirety.  

On Dec 24, 2020, U.S. District Judge James Donato dismissed the complaint, and subsequently entered judgment in favor of Facebook because plaintiffs could not establish Article III standing.

Read the Daily Journal’s feature of Brett Heeger v. Facebook, Inc., here. 

The Munger, Tolles & Olson team that led the matter for Facebook was led by Rosemarie Ring and Laura Smolowe and included Andrew Cath Rubenstein and Zoe Bedell.