Facebook Sued Over Allegedly Allowing Chinese Counterfeiters to Sell Fake NFL Jerseys

The suit claims, because of Facebook's insatiable desire to break into the still untapped Chinese marketplace, it has aligned itself with a Chinese marketing firm that has been repeatedly accused of doing business with counterfeit entities in numerous countries across the globe.
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In this image provided by Facebook, Facebook founder, Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, center, applauds at the opening bell of the Nasdaq stock market, Friday, May 18, 2012, from Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif. The social media company priced its IPO on Thursday at $38 per share, and beginning Friday regular investors will have a chance to buy shares. (AP Photo/Nasdaq via Facebook, Zef Nikolla)
In this image provided by Facebook, Facebook founder, Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, center, applauds at the opening bell of the Nasdaq stock market, Friday, May 18, 2012, from Facebook headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif. The social media company priced its IPO on Thursday at $38 per share, and beginning Friday regular investors will have a chance to buy shares. (AP Photo/Nasdaq via Facebook, Zef Nikolla)

I hate to say "I told ya so," but, if you read my blog dated June 12, it basically states exactly what the NFL, and its merchandisers, are stating in a class action suit filed against Facebook yesterday in a California court.

The suit claims, because of Facebook's insatiable desire to break into the still untapped Chinese marketplace, it has aligned itself with a Chinese marketing firm called Adsage that has been repeatedly accused of doing business with counterfeit entities in numerous countries across the globe.

To make matters worse, the suit accuses Facebook of helping these marketers -- both legal and illegal -- gain access to your data by "opening" their source code to its Chinese partners. Thus, if you routinely visit pages that promote the NFL, chances are you will be prompted to click on ads for "Authentic NFL Jerseys" that are anything but.

In recent months, Apple and Google have both been caught spying on its users. The implications of the world's largest social networking site sharing all your info is huge. Not only in the area of counterfeit goods, but, in the realm of security, as well.

Chris Clayton, editor-in-chief of Delta Skymag, recently published an article demonstrating how futile, and near impossible, it is to hide your information once it's out there, and how readily available it is for those seeking to gain access to it.

Unfortunately, our lawmakers on capitol hill seem to be asleep at the wheel when it comes to protecting our interests in cyberspace. When it comes to online issues, they move about as fast as a python after eating a bear.

There needs to be a bill introduced in congress that mandates prison time, as well as heavy fines, for any CEO whose company is proven, knowingly or unknowingly, to be sharing its users personal information with other entities. That's the only way you motivate the tech geeks to make sure their first priority is your protection, and not their pocketbook.

'Like,' don't be surprised, if, in the coming weeks, more companies add themselves to this particular lawsuit.

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