Data scraping is a practice that many have criticized, but fewer have been louder about their criticisms than Meta. The tech giant has been extremely vocal about how harmful data scraping is, but in spite of the fact that this is the case, documents have revealed that the company has not been applying the same rules to itself.
These documents are legal papers that Bloomberg received from a recent lawsuit that played out between Meta and Bright Data, which is a company that had been previously contracted by the tech juggernaut. With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that Meta, which was still going by Facebook at the time, paid Bright Data to scrape data from the internet.
One might have expected Meta to refute these claims, but the company’s spokesperson openly admitted the companies activities. They are justifying it by stating that they only do this to improve customer experiences rather than for anti-competitive purposes, but such assertions are difficult to believe.
Meta has been quick to sue companies that scrape its data because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up result in it losing its competitive edge. The existence of documents proving that Meta itself has often conducted similar activities is damning because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up suggesting a deeper and less altruistic motive behind the lawsuits.
Amidst countless fines including a $277 million lawsuit from the EU, this revelation is the last thing Meta needs. The tech corporation has seen its stock bounce back after announcing that it will be tightening its belt, and this revelation and all of the controversy it will bring might take a lot of the wind out of its sails.
If anything, Meta’s defense in the lawsuits it is facing will now be greatly weakened. This could open up the company for further litigation, with governments, business and individuals alike taking this as their opportunity to sue Meta and very likely win.
Read next: Meta’s Ad Chief Says AI Will Save the Company
These documents are legal papers that Bloomberg received from a recent lawsuit that played out between Meta and Bright Data, which is a company that had been previously contracted by the tech juggernaut. With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that Meta, which was still going by Facebook at the time, paid Bright Data to scrape data from the internet.
One might have expected Meta to refute these claims, but the company’s spokesperson openly admitted the companies activities. They are justifying it by stating that they only do this to improve customer experiences rather than for anti-competitive purposes, but such assertions are difficult to believe.
Meta has been quick to sue companies that scrape its data because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up result in it losing its competitive edge. The existence of documents proving that Meta itself has often conducted similar activities is damning because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up suggesting a deeper and less altruistic motive behind the lawsuits.
Amidst countless fines including a $277 million lawsuit from the EU, this revelation is the last thing Meta needs. The tech corporation has seen its stock bounce back after announcing that it will be tightening its belt, and this revelation and all of the controversy it will bring might take a lot of the wind out of its sails.
If anything, Meta’s defense in the lawsuits it is facing will now be greatly weakened. This could open up the company for further litigation, with governments, business and individuals alike taking this as their opportunity to sue Meta and very likely win.
Read next: Meta’s Ad Chief Says AI Will Save the Company