Meta Gets Win in Hacking, Competition Case Against Data Scraper

Meta Platforms Inc. scored a win in its legal campaign against an Israeli digital advertising company’s data scraping practices, when a federal magistrate in San Francisco ruled that BrandTotal Ltd. violated anti-hacking laws by using “fake or purchased accounts” to gain access to Facebook users.

Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero mostly granted summary judgment to the tech giant, Facebook’s corporate parent, saying many of the marketing company’s business practices were illegal under state and federal computer privacy laws. Others constituted unfair competition or a breach of the social network’s terms of service, he found.

Spero also threw out BrandTotal’s counterclaims ...