The action was brought by the ACCC in late 2020 against Meta, Facebook Israel and Onavo, but according to the commission, "The case against Meta was dismissed by the Court after settlement negotiations between the ACCC and the remaining parties based on information about Meta's role in the conduct."
At the centre of the issue was the Onavo Protect VPN app, which was installed more than 270,000 times by Australian users between February 2016 and October 2017. The service ceased in May 2019.
The app was promoted as a product that would keep users' data protected and safe, for example with language such as "Use a free, fast and secure VPN to protect personal information" and "Helps Keep You and Your Data Safe".
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But Onavo and Facebook Israel shared the personal activity data from users collected by the app in anonymised and aggregated form with their parent Meta (formerly Facebook) for commercial benefit. This data included internet and app activity, including the amount of time spent using each app.
The ACCC has announced that the Federal Court declared that the two companies engaged in conduct liable to mislead the public in promotions for the Onavo Protect app, by failing to adequately disclose that users' data would be used for purposes other than providing Onavo Protect, including Meta's commercial purposes.
"We took this case knowing that many consumers are concerned about how their data is captured, stored and used by digital platforms. We believe Australian consumers should be able to make an informed choice about what happens to their data based on clear information that is not misleading," ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said.
"In the case of the Onavo Protect app, we were concerned that consumers seeking to protect their privacy through a virtual private network were not clearly told that in downloading and using this app they were actually facilitating the use of their data for Meta's commercial benefit," she added.
On top of the penalty, Facebook Israel and Onavo were also ordered to contribute to the ACCC's costs.
