Facebook and Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna filed lawsuits today (see below) accusing affiliate marketer Adscend Media, LLC along with company co-founders Jeremy Bash and Fehzan Ali of engaging in ‘likejacking’ a/k/a ‘clickjacking’ to deceive and trick users into giving out their personal information.
“Likejacking” describes the sleazy practice of tricking Facebook users into clicking a Facebook “Like” button that triggers a malicious activity, like posting a status update in order to spam them and their friends.
Both lawsuits accuse Adscend Media, Bash, and Ali of violating the CAN-SPAM Act.
Facebook also charged the three defendants of breach of contract by violating its Terms of Service (‘TOS’), violating the company’s trademark rights by diluting Facebook’s mark, and paying their affiliate marketers to use Facebook trademarks without consent or authorization.
You can read Facebook’s lawsuit below, and follow the case docket here.
Complaint Facebook, Inc. v. Adscend Media, LLC, et al.
Washington’s Attorney General McKenna also accuses the defendants of violating the state’s Commercial Electronic Mail Act and Consumer Protection Act prohibiting deceptive business practices.
You can read Washington State’s lawsuit below, and follow the case docket here.
Complaint for Injunctive Relief State of Washington v. Adscend Media, LLC et al.
Photo credit: D. Silliman
