Overcharging: Facebook advertisers lose bid case
According to the advertisers, Facebook improperly imposed charges for nonexistent clicks.
CALIFORNIA:
Facebook Inc won a court ruling on Friday rejecting a bid by thousands of advertisers to sue the company as a group for overcharging them. US District Judge Phyllis Hamilton in Oakland, California, denied the advertisers’ request for class-action status, saying they failed to show they had enough in common to sue for breach of contract and violating California’s unfair competition law. Class certification often leads to higher recoveries and allows plaintiffs to cut legal bills. In their 2009 lawsuit, the advertisers accused Facebook of overcharging them on their “cost-per-click” contracts, under which they paid fees each time users clicked their ads. According to the advertisers, Facebook improperly imposed charges for nonexistent clicks, for clicked ads that never opened, for clicks caused by server problems, and for accidental multiple clicks by individual users, among other types of clicks.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 15th, 2012.
Facebook Inc won a court ruling on Friday rejecting a bid by thousands of advertisers to sue the company as a group for overcharging them. US District Judge Phyllis Hamilton in Oakland, California, denied the advertisers’ request for class-action status, saying they failed to show they had enough in common to sue for breach of contract and violating California’s unfair competition law. Class certification often leads to higher recoveries and allows plaintiffs to cut legal bills. In their 2009 lawsuit, the advertisers accused Facebook of overcharging them on their “cost-per-click” contracts, under which they paid fees each time users clicked their ads. According to the advertisers, Facebook improperly imposed charges for nonexistent clicks, for clicked ads that never opened, for clicks caused by server problems, and for accidental multiple clicks by individual users, among other types of clicks.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 15th, 2012.