Facebook Uses Copyright Law To Tackle Hacking Operations And Phishing Websites

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Facebook has filed a lawsuit in an attempt to take down websites it says offer tools to hack Facebook accounts and/or attempt to obtain the login information of its users. However, instead of going after the websites directly, it’s suing their domain hosts.

 

In the suit, which Facebook filed Monday in California, it accused OnlineNIC and ID Shield of cybersquatting and trademark infringement. Most of the websites’ domain names use the terms “Facebook” or “Instagram.”

 

Facebook says it sent multiple takedown requests to the domain hosts, on the basis that the sites in question were infringing its copyright. It also demanded to know the identities of the websites' owners.

 

The company argues 20 websites mimicked Facebook and Instagram's URLs in an attempt to trick users into providing their usernames and passwords, with sites sometimes using the exact design of Facebook's login page. It's seeking $100,000 in damages for each site — a total of $2 million.

 

"People count on us to protect the integrity of our apps and services," a Facebook spokesperson told CNET in a statement. "We don't tolerate people creating web addresses that pretend to be associated with our family of apps. Today's lawsuit shows we will take action against those behind this abuse."

 

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