Facebook近日遭遇一起用戶集體訴訟案，或?qū)⒚媾R巨額賠償。

美國佛羅里達州一名叫科林·布里克曼（Colin Brickman）的男子發(fā)起了這起對Facebook的集體訴訟。布里克曼指控，F(xiàn)acebook未經(jīng)授權(quán)就向用戶手機發(fā)送朋友的生日信息，違犯了聯(lián)邦法律，并要求Facebook為它向用戶發(fā)送的每條未授權(quán)信息賠償1500美元。

在周五提交的一份集體起訴書中，布里克曼稱，F(xiàn)acebook向用戶發(fā)送的生日信息違反了電話消費者保護法（Telephone Consumer Protection Act）。該法案是一部限制電話營銷的法律。

根據(jù)起訴書，F(xiàn)acebook從未獲得許可就向布里克曼的手機發(fā)送朋友生日信息：“今天是吉姆·斯圖爾特（Jim Stewart）的生日。您可回復(fù)一條祝愿，該祝愿將顯示在他的時間軸中。您也可回復(fù)數(shù)字‘1’，系統(tǒng)將自動幫您發(fā)出‘生日快樂！’的祝愿”

布里克曼聲稱，F(xiàn)acebook向用戶手機發(fā)送朋友生日信息是市場營銷的一種形式，這種行為必須經(jīng)過用戶明確的書面同意才是允許的。

“Facebook通過自動撥號器向用戶手機批量發(fā)送這種信息，并采用了標準響應(yīng)提示。每一個提示都是在為Facebook打廣告。此次訴訟是為大量沒有給予Facebook事先明確同意的用戶發(fā)起的。”說投訴。

Facebook的發(fā)言人在一封電子郵件中拒絕對此次訴訟發(fā)表評論。

如果Facebook不能證明它有權(quán)限發(fā)送這些生日信息，那么它將可能需要付出巨額賠償金。根據(jù)電話營銷法的規(guī)定，如果消費者能證明被告的違規(guī)是故意的，他們可以要求被告付出每條信息500美元或1500美元的賠償。

Facebook并不是第一個因為涉嫌違犯電話營銷法而遭到起訴的公司。去年，西聯(lián)國際匯款公司(Western Union)為和解一起類似的集體訴訟而支付了850萬美元的賠償金。Uber和雅虎最近也遭遇了類似的訴訟。

美國聯(lián)邦通信委員會（The Federal Communications Commission）去年曾向消費者發(fā)出一條通知，提醒消費者第三方發(fā)送未經(jīng)授權(quán)的信息是非法的，只有在緊急情況下另外。(財富中文網(wǎng))

A Florida man claims Facebook broke a federal law by sending unauthorized text messages about friends’ birthdays, and is seeking up to $1,500 per message on behalf of himself and other Facebook users.

In a proposed class action suit filed Friday, Colin Brickman claims the Facebook FB -0.39% birthday texts violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, a law that limits telemarketing and automatic dialing systems.

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According to the lawsuit, Facebook never obtained permission to send texts to Brickman’s cell phone, but nonetheless sent a message that read, “Today is Jim Stewart’s birthday. Reply to post a wish on his Timeline or reply with 1 to post ‘Happy Birthday!’”

Brickman claims such birthday messages, which Facebook sends to users who have given the company their phone number, are a form of marketing that is only permitted with a user’s express written consent.

“Facebook sent bulk and impersonal text messages by an autodialer to cell phones like Plaintiff’s, using standard response prompts. Every prompt solicits the receiver to engage on Facebook. This lawsuit is for the thousands of persons who did NOT give Facebook prior express consent,” say the complaint.

In an email, a spokesperson for Facebook declined to comment on the lawsuit.

If Facebook can’t prove it had permission to send the messages, the social network could be on the hook for millions in damages. Under the telemarketing law, consumers can seek $500 per violation or $1,500 if they can show the violation was willful.

If the case goes forward, Facebook would not be the first company whose text messages have run afoul of the telemarketing law. In the last year, Western Union WU 4.78% agreed to pay $8.5 million to resolve a class action over unsolicited text messages while Uber and Yahoo YHOO 8.28% are currently in court over similar lawsuits.

The Federal Communications Commission has also become more aggressive about text-based marketing, posting a notice last year to remind consumers that unauthorized texts are illegal except in the case of an emergency.