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‘Facebook SPIES on Instagram users through mobile cameras even when they’re not being used,’ lawsuit claims

FACEBOOK has been accused of spying on Instagram users through the cameras on their cell phones – even when they’re not being used. 

In a lawsuit filed in on Thursday, social media user Brittany Conditi, of , claims the company is secretly on its users.

A lawsuit filed on Thursday alleges that Facebook spies on Instagram users through their cell phone cameras
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A lawsuit filed on Thursday alleges that Facebook spies on Instagram users through their cell phone camerasCredit: Alamy

Conditi alleged in the complaint that the “spying” is used to collect “lucrative and valuable data on its users that it would not otherwise have access to.”

“By obtaining extremely private and intimate personal data on their users, including in the privacy of their own homes, [Facebook is] able to increase their advertising revenue by targeting users more than ever before,” she claimed.

“For example, [Facebook is] able to see in-real time how users respond to advertisements on Instagram, providing extremely valuable information to its advertisers," the lawsuit says.

did not immediately return The Sun’s request for comment about the lawsuit or the allegations. 

It was reported this past summer that a bug on , owned by Facebook, seemingly allowed the company to access iPhone cameras, despite them not being in use.

Facebook previously said they were working to fix the tech bug. 

Facebook didn't immediately return The Sun's request for comment
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Facebook didn't immediately return The Sun's request for commentCredit: Reuters

Last month, , another lawsuit was filed against Facebook alleging the social media giant.

The suit claimed Facebook was “using facial-recognition technology to illegally harvest the biometric data of its more than 100million Instagram users.”

Facebook denied the claims and insisted the company doesn’t use facial recognition technology. 

On Thursday, , sparking frantic concerns from users.

Thousands of social media users across the world reported not being able to access their accounts.

Facebook, created and operated by , boasts 2.7billion active monthly users.

The company owns Instagram, which reportedly has more than 1billion active monthly users.

This week, celebrities ranging from , to , to , and all joined an

They said they were to confront hateful content and misinformation.

Facebook, which earned nearly $70billion in advertising revenue in 2019, is facing a reckoning over what critics call poor excuses for amplifying divisions, hate, and misinformation on their platforms.

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