Security News > 2020 > December > Australia Watchdog Sues Facebook Over 'Misleading' VPN App
Australia's consumer watchdog launched legal action against Facebook on Wednesday, alleging the social media giant "Misled" thousands of Australians by collecting user data from a free VPN service advertised as private.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has accused Facebook and two of its subsidiaries - Facebook Israel and Onavo Inc - of misleading people who downloaded its virtual private network app Onavo Protect, by collecting and using their "Very detailed and valuable personal activity data".
The ACCC alleges Facebook and its two partners falsely represented the now-defunct VPN service as keeping user data "Private, protected and secret" between February 2016 and October 2017.
"Consumers often use VPN services because they care about their online privacy, and that is what this Facebook product claimed to offer. In fact, Onavo Protect channelled significant volumes of their personal activity data straight back to Facebook," ACCC Chair Rod Sims said.
Facebook has already paid penalties in the United States and Britain over the massive 2018 data hijacking scandal involving the now-defunct British company.