Heard of  Facevalue and Bookvalue? Yes… sort of ! Now what about ”Facebook value?”

Facebook, the ultra-popular free-access social networking website is operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc . It started out as a disruptive innovation, co-founded by Mark Zuckerberg with some fellow computer science major students at Harvard University in 2004. The website currently boasts of more than 200 million active users worldwide. In comparison, Yahoo mail has around 275 million users worldwide. Gmail has about 115 million users worldwide (we’re talking roughly May’09). Just going by the immense popularity and the adoption that it enjoys, quite a few biggies were naturally fighting over a piece of its pie.

Driven to madness by an intense desire to go one-up on Google, Microsoft spent a whopping $240 million for a 1.6% stake of Facebook and valued it at $15 billion in October 2007.  F.B wasn’t even making profits back then. And well, btw it still doesnt and the CEO says it is one year away from profitability.  But now a Russian company, Digital Sky Ventures has coughed up roughly $200 million for a 2% stake and value F.B at $10 billion, about 2/3rd of what Microsoft valued it sometime back !

That’s not all. Sometime back Facebook was in the news fighting a lawsuit filed by ConnectU, another online community for students and alumni of colleges and universities. The founders of ConnectU, are actually former Harvard classmates of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. They sued Mark because they alleged he stole their intellectual property when he was employed as a programmer for ConnectU. The court documents were kept sealed, largely because there was information pertaining to the privately owned Facebook’s valuation. But then, nothing is really a secret and news gets out eventually and the AP (Associated Press) eventually used a copy-paste function in an electronic version in order to expose the censored content. Oops!

Guess what, things get a little uglier here. The self-valuation by Facebook came out to about a quarter (25%) of what Microsoft valued it, $3.75 billion! The law-suit itself was settled at $65 million. Quite intriguing! Many argued that the real value of Facebook not be at $3.75 billion itself and might lie somewhere in between this range. The new Russian deal just alludes to that.

Whatever!!! As the saying goes, valuing private companies is both art and science. The lesson: until the initial public offering or buyout, we are largely wandering in the dark when it comes to putting a value on Facebook. 

Wer Facebook in seiner alten Aufmachung schon kannte, und auch ein bisschen rosarote studiVZ-Luft geschnuppert hat, der kann wohl kaum von der Hand weisen, dass irgendwer von irgendwem abgekuckt hat. Nun verklagt Facebook schon zum zweiten Mal die erfolgreichste deutsche Community zurzeit. Doch nachdem das erste Verfahren in Kalifornien stattfindet, wird nun auf deutschem Boden über die Plagiatsvorwürfe entschieden.

Facebook-Guru Mark Zuckerberg hat gut lachen. Nachdem scheinbar schon der ganze amerikanische Markt erschlossen wurde, kommt es jetzt zu unglaublichen Zuwächsen auch im Rest der Welt. Doch neben dem Erfolg nerven wahrscheinlich auch diese Nachahmer, denn nichts wächst schneller im WorldWideWeb als Social Communities, die keiner braucht. 

Im Februar 2004 wurden die Tore von Facebook geöffnet und bis jetzt gibt es 200 Millionen registrierte User. studiVZ, welches Ende 2005 auftauchte, kommt aktuell laut Wikipedia auf 12 Millionen User. So gesehen dürfte es also keine große Gefahr für Facebook sein, ist es doch immer noch gang und gebe, auf so viele Plattformen wie möglich mit Profilen vertreten zu sein. 

Zuckerberg plädiert bei seiner Klage auf Missbrauch geistigen Eigentums. Erst im Februar zahlte aber eben Facebook 65 Millionen Euro an die Betreiber der Social Community ConnectU, von welchen Zuckerberg und die anderen Entwickler ebenso geklaut und deren geistiges Eigentum missbraucht haben. So wäre studiVZ ein plagiiertes Plagiat von ConnectU. Auch nicht schlecht. 

Ich persönlich bin zwar schon lange auf beiden Plattformen angemeldet, aber für mich war anfangs, aufgrund der vielen bekannten User studiVZ um eniges interessanter. Als ich mich dann eingehends mit Facebook beschäftigte (und das muss man unbedingt zu Beginn einmal machen), empfand ich schnell diese Plattform als interessanter, intuitiver und mit dem neuen User-Zustrom auch schließlich einfach besser. 

Aber um auf die Vorwürfe zurückzukommen. Facebook müsste eigentlich ganz klar gegen studiVZ gewinnen. Denn es ist einfach nicht von der Hand zu weisen, dass studiVZ sich nicht nur von Facebook inspirieren ließ, sondern wirklich alles teilweise 1:1 kopierte. Nur Facebook entwickelt sich stetig mächtig weiter und studiVZ hat den Zenit schon längst überschritten und verharrt auf einer mehr als unguten Halbfertigversion.

I didn’t want to join Facebook but did so at the suggestion of a 30-something friend of mine. I’m 45 and on very good terms with my computer and cell phone, but Social Networking always seemed to be a waste of time and something that only the younger generation could find much meaning in. I’ve been on it for a short time, and I must say I’m still wary of it, for diverse reasons. But I have hope.

With Facebook, I’ve stayed in touch with family members that are spread out across the world and reconnected with old friends. I’ve exchanged inside jokes with a friend who moved away, found out another has had five kids since I last saw her a decade ago, and learned how my niece is getting along teaching English in Rio de Janeiro (complete with lots of pictures.)

But I’ve also learned that another niece got a speeding ticket for going 60 in a 30-mph zone. A nephew took part in a public pillow fight in downtown New York (caught on video), and studies a lot in the library. Someone else is not feeling well today (with a friend thinking it was because she was pregnant.) Another announced she wanted to do some spring cleaning but took a nap instead. And I myself put the word out that I got a shard in my eye and had to spend the night looking like a pirate with a patch on my eye.

I’ve also seen how some people on my friends list (so far a paltry 12), have hundreds of “friends” of their own. And I wonder…how can this be? And this is the part I don’t get: How is more somehow always better?

It reminds me how I once had a friend, a former colleague in Moscow, whom I stayed in touch with by e-mail for a time. The first exchanges were friendly, intimate and detailed from our shared experience of living in a foreign land. Then, I began to get e-mail replies from him that were also addressed to all of the friends in his address book. These were no longer a personal response to my personal letters, and I would have none of it.

Agreed, Facebook and texting and twittering and other networking tools are a clever way to stay in touch and share your life with others, but doesn’t it get to the point where it’s all just a shallow and narcissistic exercise? When I see students in the university town where I live talking on cell phones while on a bicycle or even a scooter, for chrissakes, or texting while crossing a busy street, it makes me just shake my head.

Once, at an impromptu Q & A I attended at a local community college, a young student decided to text with someone while he was just in front of the director of the program he was trying to be admitted to. It was so distracting that I had to step in front of the student to hear the teacher. And that’s the part I’ll never get: Why did he think it was okay to do this? Could you please just be in the moment? I don’t think he gave a second thought to the people around him. But that’s just it–you’re connected, but you’re not connected. The student didn’t get it, and maybe never will.

Social Networking is like an itch that has to be scratched. It’s like how my 15-year-old niece will text with someone else while at the dinner table with family. Her phone constantly buzzes, and she has to answer the buzz. She presses a few buttons while hardly breaking eye contact with you, and that’s that. Another circuit completed. Another meaningless moment broadcast.

Now I find myself checking my Facebook as soon as I get on the computer. Got to know what my people are up to. Ow, my sister-in-law is going to the hardware store. Her daughter has been trying to reach her on her cell. Why doesn’t mom answer, she wonders? Is it any wonder?

In a copyright infringement case where ConnectU claims that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg stole their source code and ideas, a federal court judge has allowed the case to continue.

I posted about previous litigation, the two parties settled for a reportedly hefty fee out of the court but I guess that wasn’t the end of it.

Article

Facebook Glass Print

The emergence of social networking sites over the past number of decades has been colossal. Facebook is one of the largest social networking sites around the world with over 175 million users, recently surpassing MySpace but the question is; has it become too involved in some people’s lives? Personal details, family arrangements and live updates are just some of the things that can be found on a solitary users account, with as much or as little information given the users discretion.

Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, created the site originally whilst studying at Harvard University. The eventual popularity of the site was unforeseen as membership was only available at the time to those currently studying at the University, before other Ivy League school across the USA, finally expanding worldwide. Along with being a commendable asset to someone with regards to their social lives, it does possess aspects which could be potentially harmful to users. There has been a vast range of controversy ever since Facebook’s establishment including advertising problems, user privacy and various lawsuits aimed at the Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg respectively.

Zuckerberg was at the centre of a lawsuit filed against him by his former classmates who now own ConnectU. Claiming to have broken an oral contract between the party’s, an out of court settlement was rumoured to have been agreed in the area of $65 million. A sum dwarfed by Facebook’s alleged valuation of between $3.5/5 billion reported by BusinessWeek in August 2008. Alessandro Del Piero recently sued Facebook after a false account was created on his behalf. The fraudulent profile cited Del Piero’s support for Neo-Nazi interest groups throughout Italy. The Italian football legend categorically denies any involvement or support for Neo-Nazi propaganda.

I myself have a personal account, it does have information about me and my interests, but cautiously I’ve set privacy settings so that only my friends can see my account, i would advise anyone to do the same. During my first semester last year, we were given a lecture which focused on online journalism and social networking un-surprisingly featured. Astonishingly, job recruitment can also be affected by your personal account in the social network community. Racy photos and love for recreational pass times are just a number of things that have lead to application rejections from a number of firms according to an online survey by ComputerWorld.com.

As much as appreciate Facebook for all its qualities, all the hype about identity fraud, recruitment disputes and all, it has led me to become somewhat sceptical about how much social networking can affect your personal affairs. Not to mention the recent influx of parents which are now currently scrutinising Facebook profiles of their sons and daughters. Scary times indeed.

You want advice? Dont declare anything that you wouldn’t want your parents to know!

En esta entrada, vamos ha echar marcha atrás en el tiempo para conocer la historia de la web que realmente está revolucionado el mundo de internet y la visión sobre las redes sociales, consiguiendo estar en boca de todos para convertirse en uno de los negocios más rentables en estos momentos.

Supongo que todo el mundo conocera o habrá oído hablar de Facebook, pero para aquellas personas que aún no lo saben, es simplemente una red social para relacionarse con la familia, amigos, antiguos compañeros o incluso con gente desconocida donde podrás jugar, ver fotos, unirte a grupos o bien chatear con vuestros contactos.

Pero hoy no vamos a explicar las utilidades que nos ofrece, sino que os proponemos conocer el “verdadero” comienzo de toda esta historia. Oficialmente Mark Zuckerberg, fue el creador de Facebook en 2004 creando una web para facilitar la comunicación de los estudiantes de la Universidad de Harvard. Pero Mark, no estaba solo. Tyler Winklevoss, Divya Narendra y Cameron Winklevoss fueron antiguos compañeros suyos, y acusan a Mark de robarles la idea de la web parecida que habían creado, conocida como connectU. Además, se acusa también a Mark por robar una parte del código de su otro compañero Aaron J. Greenspan, sobre otra web que había creado también muy similar a Facebook, llamada houseSYSTEM. A todo esto hay que sumar los consecuentes juicios por parte de estas plataformas y los problemas que han aparecidos en cuanto a la privacidad del contenido de los usuarios.

Pero Facebook no para de crecer cada día más y más. A lo que realmente conocer su origen, quedaría como una simple anécdota, porque de momento no hay quien lo detenga. Incluso podríamos encontrarnos muy pronto con su adaptación para la Gran Pantalla. 

Extra: El Jornalero se apunta a todas estas nuevas herramientas y os recordamos que podéis ser Fans del Blog Jornalero en vuestro Facebook.

‘Sulit’ untuk mencari padanan kata yang pas untuk kata Facebook, yang belakangan mampu menyulap jutaan orang di dunia. Kabar terakhir yang dilansir Facebook, jumlah pengguna sudah mencapai 175 juta di seluruh dunia. Separuh dari pengguna adalah kalangan diluar kuliahan. Pertumbuhan pengguna terbesar terjadi pada usia 30 ke atas.

Rata2 user mempunyai 120 teman dalam ‘list pertemanan’. Tahu berapa foto dan video yang diupload per bulan di jejaring ini? 850 juta foto dan 5 juta video per bulan! Fenomena Facebook memang cukup luar biasa.

Jejaring ini diperkenalkan oleh Mark Zuckenberg pada tanggal 4 Feb 2004 dan terus dikembangkan hingga sekarang. Sempat menjadi kontroversi karena Mark,  CEO sekaligus founder Facebook,  dituduh telah mencuri ide social networking ini dari sebuah perusahaan ConnectU. Untuk itu Facebook diharuskan membayar $ 65 M! Jumlah yang luar biasa besar, tapi mungkin tidak bagi Mark. Kekayan pribadi Mark sekarang sudah mencapai $ 1.5 B. Hitung aja sendiri jika dikurskan ke dalam rupiah : 1.5 milyar dollar kali -lets say- Rp. 10 ribu. Dalam list situs Forbes, nama Mark nangkring di urutan 321 orang terkaya dengan kekayaan satusetengahmilyardollars.  Dialah milyarder termuda dari 400 orang yang masuk dalam list.  Mark gak kelar kuliah di Harvard University karena lebih tertarik mengembangkan hasil temuannya ketimbang menyelesaikan studinya.

Hoy, los abogados de alguna compañía dicen que la red social Facebook, pagó U$S 65 millones solo para cerrar una demanda en donde se acusa al creador de la red social, solo, por robar ESA idea a sus compañeros de cuarto, en la universidad de Harvad.

La empresa demandante es ConnectU, creada, o casualidad, por los mismos compañeros de habitación y los mismos amigos del fundador de Facebook

La idea transcurre en 2003, cuando ConnetcU, Tyler y Cameron Winklevoss, involuncran a Mark para terminar la codificación del código del software para el sitio cuando todos estudiaban en Harvard. Al año siguiente, cuando Zuckerberg estaba en 2do año, tomo el codigo y la idea, e invento Facebook en ese año (2004), según indica ConnectU.

Además, al mantener los detalles del caso en secreto, bajo amenaza de una multa multimillonaria, documentos judiciales parecen indicar que Facebook tiene y DEBE comprar el sitio ConnetcU, por una cifra que no se va a difundir.

(Nota del autor: Eso si es un robo bien fino xP)

O Jovem CEO do FACEBOOK MARK ZUCKERBERG PAGA US$ 65 MILHÕES A TRÊS EX-COLEGAS PARA ENCERRAR UMA AÇÃO JUDICIAL QUE O ACUSA DE ROUBAR IDÉIA DO SITE CONNECTU.

O caso foi publicado no informativo inglês The Guardian, ontem (12), e, a princípio, não deveria ser algo público, pois havia um acordo entre todas as partes de não divulgar a notícia, que acabou vazando pelo escritório de advocacia dos acusadores.

Facebook’s internal valuation was revealed this week thanks to shoddy PDF redaction. Court documents from a settlement between Facebook and ConnectU showed that Facebook values itself at $3.7 billion, much less than the $15 billion that was speculated during the Microsoft investment. The AP uncovered this by cutting and pasting from the redacted court document. It’s the same thing we showed in our PDF redaction screencast last summer… and it will never cease to be funny.

[photo: Bryan Veloso]

Facebook acaba de desembolsar la cantidad de 65 millondes de dólares para cerrar una demanda que acusaba su fundador Mark Zuckerberg de robar la idea a compañeros de cuarto en Harvard, creadores de ConnectU.

Los creadores de ConnectU Tyler y Cameron Winklevoss aseguran que involucraron a Zuckerberg para terminar la codificación del software para su sitio de socialización cuando todos estudiaban en Harvard en 2003.

Fuente | EcoDiario.es

Oh mein Gott, Facebook. Das Tool der gepflegten Langeweile. 15 Mrd. $ wert. Nein, doch nicht, ganz leicht weniger. Nun, eigentlich 3,7 Mrd. und fallend! Das ist ein Verlust von 70%.

Unbedingt dies lesen und dies.

Alexander, Marc and Oliver Samwer zerlegten inzwischen ein paar Möbel in ihrem Büro. Die Jungens, die sich im Copy-USA-Companies Geschäft befinden gründeten vor ca. 2 Jahren den ‘european f(L)ounders fund’ und investierten eine nicht genannte Summe (man nimmt an 100-150 Mill. $) in einem geistig umnebelten Moment als in den USA schon das Lachen über die abstruse Bewertung von Facebook Runde machte. Damit ist ihr Investment auf ca. 30-37 Mill. geschmolzen und fallend.

Facebook IPO? Eher geht Bin Laden zum Vatikan.

A confidential information leak has spread like fire over the Internet. As per a law firm, Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg paid a staggering $65 million to two ex-classmates from Harvard, who claimed that their idea to create a social networking site was stolen.

The two classmates, who own another online community ‘ConnectU’, alleged that Mark stole their idea of building a social network. The highly confidential deal, which was agreed upon only last year, was leaked recently including huge amount of money, both in forms of cash and stock.

The 150 million-plus-users social network wanted to keep the details hush-hush, and it took efforts to maintain the secrecy. It went to the extent of having reporters removed from the court where the talks were about to take place. However, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges, the law firm that represented ConnectU, dispatched a newsletter to clients stating that Facebook paid $20 million and gave away more than 1.2 million shares of common stock worth $45 million. The firm later agreed that the details were revealed by mistake.

Actually, $65 million was not the amount claimed by ConnectU in its litigation. The amount was much more, $15 billion to be exact. This figure was based on Microsoft’s decision to pay $240 million to acquire 1.6% share of Facebook in 2007. However, Facebook’s lawyers argued against ConnectU’s claim saying that the amount should be worth far less than what Microsoft was ready to pay for initially. Facebook valued itself at $3.7 billion, which means ConnectU’s share settlement should be no more than $11 million.

Now the question arises that will this news hamper Facebook’s brand image? Not really, as Facebook has become a global community now. The idea has already sinked in with millions of users worldwide who want to enjoy quality service and connect with their friends. So, it doesn’t really matter much to the users.

As far as advertisers are concerned, again the impact shouldn’t be much as Facebook is renowned across the world now and users are not going to leave it just because the idea has been copied. What marketers need is a huge brand exposure, which they can get only if they get exposed to large number of people, which Facebook has.

Another factor people will look into is that Facebook managed to scale its popularity much higher than ConnectU, even when the owners of the two companies had the same idea in mind. This goes on to show that Facebook simply played the game smarter and better, the reason that has made it reach a position that ConnectU hasn’t been able to so far.

What a recessionary year can do to a high-flying startup? What about cut its value by 5!

According to the Associated Press, Facebook lawyers appraised the company’s privately held stock at $8.88 per share, giving it a market value of about $3.7 billion.

Far less than the $15 billion valuation the Palo Alto, Calif.-startup had in 2007, when it sold a 1.6 percent stake to Microsoft for $240 million. I wonder if Microsoft will have to record this precipitous drop of value in its next earnings?

The details come from a released transcript in connection of the Facebook/ConnectU settlement where the social network agreed to pay ConnectU $20 million in cash and 1,253,326 shares of common stock, or $11 million.

AP, uncovering the Facebook/ConnectU settlement: The internal valuation of Facebook is $3.7 billion; http://tr.im/fw1k  

Facebook appears to dished out 65 million to secretly settle a law suit claiming that founder Mark Zuckerberg stole the idea for the wildly popular site from fellow Harvard classmates.

ConnectU founders Tyler Winklevoss, Divya Narendra and Cameron Winklevoss

The news was reported by the law blog, the Recorder, which spotted an advertisement attorney Quinn Emanuel put on a law firm Web site touting the agreement.

The ad claims: “WON $65 million settlement against Facebook.”

The dispute began when Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss and Divya Narendra, founders of ConnectU, hired Zuckerberg to help develop a dating site for students. They sued in 2004 claiming Zuckerberg had used information from the project to start his own site.

Facebook initially agreed to settle the matter last year by buying ConnectU. Several months later, a federal judge in San Jose tossed out an appeal to reopen the settlement.

ConnectU had fired Emanuel and are battling over fees, with Emanuel seeking $13 million.

Kom over denne saken hos law.com i dag. Her er det ting som absolutt tyder på at grunnleggeren av Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, stjal idéen til Facebook da han var innleid som programmerer av et par studiekamerater på Harvard. De hadde idéen om en “dating Web site” for studentene på Harvard (ConnectU). Jeg siterer:

The ConnectU dispute got started at Harvard, where ConnectU’s founders, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss and Divya Narendra hired fellow student Zuckerberg to work on code for a dating Web site for Harvard students. They sued Facebook in 2004, accusing Zuckerberg of delaying the project while using the information to start his own Web site. He quit Harvard and moved to Palo Alto to start the company. ConnectU’s lawyers argued that it amounted to trade secret theft and copyright infringement. Last February, Facebook agreed to settle the matter by paying to acquire ConnectU. But soon after, the ConnectU founders claimed they were hoodwinked into a cheap settlement and said they had new evidence implicating Zuckerberg.

Selv etter finanskrisen har satt inn for fullt, så verdsettes Facebook til brukbare 4 milliarder dollar, etter å ha vært oppe i 15 milliarder dollar. Saken som jeg viser til over forteller at de skal ha kommet til en enighet på 65 millioner dollar, et beløp Facebook i følge saken skal betale ConnectU som firmaet til de nevnte studenter heter.

ConnectU er faktisk oppe og går med sin opprinnelige idé.

Jeg tror ConnectU skal være fornøyd, det skal godt gjøres at de hadde klart å videreutvikle sin idé til å bli noe a la Facebook. Og “tyven” Zuckerberg er sikkert også fornøyd, han hadde neppe kommet opp med idéen selv uten at han hadde fått oppdraget fra ConnectU in the first place.

I dag benyttes Facebook til så mangt, som vi også kan se f.eks. her og her.

Sånn kan det gå!

Oppdatert 12.02.2009:
Ser at vg.no skriver om denne saken i dag etter at jeg kontaktet dem i går fordi de av en eller annen grunn har sperret min blogg fra deres tilknytning mot Twingly bloggsøk. Jeg hadde knyttet dette innlegget om Facebook opp mot et par artikler de hadde om bruk av Facebook. Og vips! så skriver de om saken i dag. Neppe tilfeldig! Honorar?

2. oppdatering 12.02.2009:
Nope, helt tilfeldig og intet honorar i følge vg.no. Fordi de hadde lest saken i Aftonbladet i dag. Mens jeg altså postet den den 10.02 kl 22:46 og ga link til vg.no i går. Samme det, slik er det med nyhetsflyten i dagens moderne nettsamfunn

Plaintiffs in this dispute had hired future Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerman to build a dating website for Harvard students early this decade.  However, the project got delayed and ConnectU figured out  that it was because Zuckerman was hard at work on Facebook. ConnectU sued Facebook with the help of Quinn Emanuel litigators.  Facebook ended up settled by acquiring ConnectU but that company felt Zuckerman and Facebook had withheld information.  They fired Quinn Emanuel and tried to get the agreement over-turned.  They went before a judge who cleared the room of reporters and declared the amount of the settlement under seal.

Fast forward to now when Quinn Emanuel develops a brochure touting its successes and included among them is a claim that Quinn attorneys won a $65 million settlement against Facebook.  There are two things wrong with this; first, revealing confidential information about a client or former client and not just any confidential information but information that a federal court judge put under seal.  The second problem is that this settlement wasn’t something the client was happy about and which they actually ended up firing the Quinn Emanuel attorneys over.  Maybe the oath of law firm marketing should be  first, do no harm.

Article

Suit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California against Facebook and other defendants, including Blockbuster, Hotwire, Overstock.com, Zappos and Gamefly. The litigation, Lane et al, vs. Facebook et al, alleges the group of defendants violated a variety of laws, including the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the Video Privacy Protection Act, California’s Consumer Legal Remedies Act, and the California Computer Crime Law.

Facebook, a social networking site, was launched in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg, while at Harvard University. Zuckerberg has been the target of several earlier suits from former classmates who say he stole their intellectual property, including computer source code. He has also been the subject of a suit by ConnectU, which hired him during his sophomore year at Harvard, to complete programming for their site. The ConnectU suit, which was dismissed without prejudice on technical grounds, claimed Zuckerberg intentionally sabotaged development there, while using the stolen code to help develop Facebook.

Facebook launched the Beacon system in 2007, which allowed third-party websites to include a Facebook script by on their sites, to send information about the actions of Facebook users on those sites, such as purchases made, commenting, and games played, back to Facebook. This opt-out scripting prompted serious privacy concerns and eventually led to a change in policy by Facebook

The Lane litigation focuses on the joint marketing venture between Facebook and the other defendants, which the plaintiffs allege violated users’ privacy by sharing personal information about other Web sites. Information about those activities was then published on the user’s home and profile pages on Facebook and broadcast to designated “friends” on Facebook.com.

The plaintiffs are asking the court to certify the class and award injunctive relief and monetary damages. A copy of the Complaint is available online.