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Canadian class action launched over Facebook data-scraping scandal

Facebook is facing a class-action lawsuit on behalf of the 622,161 Canadians who may be among 87 million people whose personal data was improperly harvested.
The proposed class action comes on the same day Cambridge Analytica — the British political consulting firm that’s now the subject of political probes in Canada, the U.S., and the U.K., as well as an investigation by Canada’s privacy commissioner — said it was shutting down and filing for bankruptcy because news reports about the privacy scandal had “driven away virtually all” of its customers and suppliers.
Jessica Simpson, shown in her North York office, is the lead plaintiff in a proposed class-action lawsuit against Facebook on behalf of the 622,161 Canadians who may be among 87 million people whose personal data was improperly harvested. (Richard Lautens / Toronto Star)
A lawsuit filed Wednesday at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice is the second class-action to hit the Silicon Valley heavyweight over the Cambridge Analytica drama. Last month a class action was launched in U.S. district court on behalf of 71 million U.S. and U.K. users whose data may have been scraped by the firm, which has been accused of building detailed voter profiles for electoral gain.
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The Canadian class action, which has yet to be certified by a judge, alleges Facebook and Facebook Canada disclosed users’ personal information without their consent and failed to adequately protect their privacy.
A statement of claim filed in the court Wednesday alleges the tech giant “intentionally or recklessly and without lawful justification invaded the private affairs or concerns of the (users) … in a way that a reasonable person would regard the invasion as highly offensive causing distress, humiliation or anguish.”
A spokesperson for Facebook said it did not have a comment about the suit. Paul Grewal, the company’s vice-president and deputy general counsel, addressed concerns over privacy in a blog post last month.
“We are committed to vigorously enforcing our policies to protect people’s information. We will take whatever steps are required to see that this happens,” Grewal said at the time.
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The lawsuit seeks $62,216,100 in punitive damages, or $100 for each of the 622,161 Canadians Facebook says may have had their info swept up by Cambridge Analytica. The firm, which has denied any wrongdoing, has ties to U.S. President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign.
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The suit also seeks general damages in the amount of $1,000 for each class-action member.
Cambridge Analytica is not named as a defendant in the Canadian class action, which only names Facebook and Facebook Canada. Both Cambridge Analytica and Facebook are defendants in the U.S. class action.
“Companies such as Facebook that collect and use personal information for commercial purposes are obliged to take strict measures to ensure that that information is not shared with or accessed by third parties without proper disclosure and prior consent,” said Sajjad Nematollahi, a Toronto-based lawyer at Siskinds LLP who is representing the plaintiffs.

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