Meta defeated a class-action privacy lawsuit after U.S. District Court Judge Rita Lin in San Francisco dismissed allegations that the company wrongly collected location data about Facebook users via tracking software embedded in mobile apps. The lawsuit, brought in February 2025 by California resident Lisa Tsering (later joined by Dominique Davis), alleged that Meta receives precise geolocation data from apps using the Facebook Audience Network software development kit without users' consent, in violation of California privacy laws. Judge Lin ruled the allegations, even if proven true, would not establish that Meta knew it lacked users' permission, writing that “the mere receipt of allegedly sensitive user information does not plausibly suggest that the recipient would (or should) know that such information was received without consent,” and dismissed the case with prejudice so it cannot be refiled.
