The surveillance company Voyager Labs created fake Facebook accounts to siphon off masses of publicly available data. Even the US police authorities are said to have used the service.
The UK -registered company is said to have maintained around 40,000 fake Facebook accounts . With these they are said to have siphoned off the data from 600,000 Facebook accounts. The parent company Meta filed a lawsuit on Thursday, with which they want to fight the business of the so-called scrapers. These collect publicly visible information in social networks such as likes, friend lists or photos and try to find suspicious circumstances against users. “Companies like Voyager are part of an industry that provides scraping services for everyone,” Meta said in a blog post. Meta has already identified and banned all accounts on Facebook and Instagram of the surveillance company Voyager Labs. Among other things, want thatTech companies are getting Voyager Labs, which has multiple international offices, to stay away from the platform.
AUTHORITIES USE SPECIAL SOFTWARE FOR INVESTIGATIONS
Voyager Labs describes itself as “a global leader in advanced investigation solutions” powered by artificial intelligence. The Brennan Center For Justice revealedwith a series of inquiries to US authorities that the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) had engaged Voyager Labs for months. It turned out that the LAPD is said to use special third-party software from Voyager Labs, Palantir and Datamir to monitor and search for criminal activities. However, the surveillance was without a trace, according to the company. “This industry covertly collects information that people share with their communities, family and friends, without oversight or accountability, and in ways that may affect people’s civil rights,” Meta executive Jessica Romero said in the filing.
META: WHAT ARE YOUR NEXT STEPS?
Finally, Meta explained in a blog: “These services operate across many platforms and national borders and require a collective effort from platforms, policymakers and civil society to deter misuse of these capabilities. Meta will continue to take action against these types of entities.” With lawmakers and regulators no longer tolerating unbridled traffic , it is in Meta’s interest to proceed.
