San Francisco — Social networking operation Facebook has gone on the offensive to protect users’ privacy, is cracking down on spammers plaguing the social network in recent months and has filed three lawsuits in San Jose federal court this week against several men who allegedly tricked users into signing up for mobile subscriptions and spammed their friends, violating the U.S. Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, otherwise known as CAN-SPAM.
In a statement, the company said, “This week, in a U.S. federal court in San Jose, California, in three separate complaints, we allege that Steven Richter, Jason Swan, and Max Bounty, Inc. used Facebook to offer enticing, but non-existent products and services,” Facebook said in a blog post. “According to our complaints, the defendants, among other things, violated our terms and applicable law by attempting to trick people on Facebook into signing up for mobile subscriptions and sending spam to their friends.”
This representation indicates that defendants were responsible for launching some of the survey scams, which have become a daily occurrence on Facebook.
The complaints allege that the trio were offering hooky goods and services, including automatic mobile phone subscription services. Facebook said that these actions are violations of the U.S. Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act (CAN-SPAM), as well as other state and federal laws.
According to reports appearing on technology news site CNET, states that Jason Swan is alleged of running 27 fake profiles, 13 fake pages, as well as 7 rogue applications, while Steven Richter is allegedly responsible for creating 40 fake profiles and 43 fake pages.
“We will continue with enforcement and collection efforts against spammers and fraudsters, and we are committed to applying continuous legal pressure to send a strong message to spammers that they are not welcome on Facebook,” Facebook said. The social networking company said it has other actions pending, and promised “more to come.”
The suits, filed in U.S. federal court in San Jose, Calif., appeared barely two days after the Wall Street Journal published an article alleging that manufacturers of all the top-10 Facebook apps — among them Zynga, maker of blockbuster app FarmVille — were transmitting Facebook User IDs to outside companies, a violation of Facebook’s terms of service.
“Our technical systems have always been complemented by strong policy enforcement, and we will continue to rely on both to keep people in control of their information,” Facebook said in a statement in response to the Journal story.
Meanwhile, Facebook stated that Cost Per Action (CPA) marketing company MaxBounty, exploited its logo in deceptive advertising campaigns promoting free gift cards, iPads and other products.
Facebook has not been hesitant about taking legal action against spammers. Last February, Facebook was awarded $711 million in damages against Sanford Wallace, who ran a spamming and phishing scam on the site. Facebook also won an $873 million judgment against Adam Guerbuez and his company, Atlantis Blue Capital, in November of 2008. In the history of the CAN-SPAM Act, these are the largest two judgments ever awarded, Facebook said.
Facebook encouraged users to report content they suspect to be spam and to like its “Facebook Security Page” for tips and information on how to recognize spam and stay safe on the site.