A Washington, D.C. resident has filed a lawsuit on Tuesday in Los Angeles federal court against a website which is allegedly selling financial and personal information about individuals without their consent.
In the proposed class-action lawsuit, Tom Robins alleges that Spokeo.com violates the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by collecting data from online and traditional sources and publishing the information.
The website allows Internet users to search for anyone by name, e-mail address or phone number. According to the allegation, Spokeo provides searchers with in-depth consumer reports, including the person’s address, marital status, age, occupation, wealth level and a credit/economic health estimate.
Spokeo makes much of the information available for free, but reserves the most detailed and personal information for paid subscribers, Robins contended.
The information about him available on Spokeo is mostly inaccurate and false, and the data is marketed to employers at a time when Robins is looking for a job, he said.
The plaintiff seeks for injunctive relief and monetary damages for violating the FCRA.
Source: Xinhuanet.com
Mark Hachman of PC Magazine also covers the lawsuit.
Thanks to the reader who sent in this link.