Facebook agreed to settle a lawsuit with a New Zealand company that was allegedly selling social media bots. The notice, filed yesterday, announces a truce between Facebook and Social Media Series Limited. Facebook originally sued the company in April, claiming it had used a variety of names to sell “millions of automated likes” on the Facebook-owned platform Instagram.
Facebook is settling one of its lawsuits over fake likes
Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
is a senior tech and policy editor focused on online platforms and free expression. Adi has covered virtual and augmented reality, the history of computing, and more for The Verge since 2011.
Facebook had previously accused Social Media Series Limited of violating laws against breach of contract and unjust enrichment as well as violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. We don’t know the terms of this settlement, only that the companies have “agreed to resolve this matter.” Facebook didn’t immediately return an email requesting comment.
Facebook has filed multiple lawsuits this year targeting bot sellers, data harvesters, and other companies that it says unethically exploit its platform. The crackdown followed last year’s Cambridge Analytica scandal where Facebook was criticized for letting third-party developers scrape data.
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