Facebook sued over tracking members' Internet use

From the San Francisco Chronicle:

Two prominent Baltimore attorneys, one who is the majority owner of that city's baseball team, have filed a lawsuit against Facebook claiming the company spies on the Internet activities of members after they have logged off the social network.

The suit filed by Peter G. Angelos, chief executive officer of the Baltimore Orioles, and William "Billy" Murphy Jr. claims that Facebook's actions broke several local and national privacy laws, including the federal Wiretap Act and the California Internet Privacy Requirements Act.
"The days when online service providers can run roughshod over the privacy rights of their customers are over," Murphy said in a press release.

The Menlo Park company has said in the past that the technology in question does not compromise an individual member's privacy and was used to protect the social network from spammers.

"We believe that this case is without merit and we will fight it vigorously," said Facebook spokesman Andrew Noyes.