Meta sues predictive policing firm Voyager Labs for data scraping

Facebook owner Meta filed a legal complaint against an AI-powered predictive policing company for using fake Facebook accounts to scrape user data and provide surveillance services to clients.

According to the legal filing, Voyager Labs created 38,000+ fake Facebook user accounts and used its surveillance software to gather data from 600,000 Facebook and Instagram users without consent.  

Meta demanded that the company stop violating its terms of service and requested it is permanently banned from using Facebook, Instagram, and services related to those platforms. Meta also claimed that Voyager Labs unjustly enriched itself at Meta’s expense, and requested it compensate Meta for its 'ill-gotten profits in an amount to be proven at trial.'

The incident raised questions about the legality and ethics of Voyager Lab's governance, notably its data collection policies and processes.

Legal, regulatory 👩🏼‍⚖️

• Meta Platforms, Inc. v. Voyager Labs Ltd

Research, advocacy 🧮

• Meta. Leading the Fight against Scraping-for-Hire

• Meta. Letter to LAPD (pdf)

• Democracy Centre for Transparency. Voyager Labs: the blunt weapon of artificial transparency

• Brennan Center for Justice (2021). LAPD Documents Show What One Social Media Surveillance Firm Promises Police

News, commentary, analysis 🗞️

• https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-59341750

• https://gizmodo.com/facebook-voyager-labs-predictive-policing-meta-1849985035

• https://www.theverge.com/2023/1/13/23553332/meta-facebook-instagram-voyager-labs-data-privacy-sue

• https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/jan/12/meta-voyager-labs-surveillance-fake-accounts

• https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/nov/17/los-angeles-police-surveillance-social-media-voyager

• https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/nov/17/police-surveillance-technology-voyager