There have been several private lawsuits are already hitting both Facebook and Cambridge Analytica, and now you can add a state lawsuit to that pile. Illinois’ Cook County has filed a lawsuit against the two companies where they accuse them of violating the state’s Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act.
For Cambridge Analytica’s case, they’re being accused of breaking the law by misrepresenting its “thisisyourdigitallife” app that was meant to be used as an academic research tool but really was a way to harvest personal data. Facebook on the other hand is being accused of falsely promising to protect user data and then doing nothing to stop Cambridge Analytica for years after learning of what they had been doing.
There was no overall claim for damages, but noted that each violation of the Illinois fraud act could carry a penalty of up to $50,000, and as much as $10,000 more if a given victim us 65 years or older. The state may not seek the maximum penalty per person when their are reportedly “millions” of residents that were affected, but if this lawsuit is won by the state, it could prove to be very costly for the defendants.
