Facebook Beats Competition Claims Over Bid to Stop Data Scrapers

Facebook Inc. dodged a legal challenge to its efforts to rid its platforms of BrandTotal Ltd., which scrapes user data through browser extensions, when a federal magistrate in San Francisco threw out the Israeli advertising company’s allegations against the social media giant.

Magistrate Judge Joseph C. Spero dismissed the counterclaims BrandTotal brought in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California after Facebook blocked its accounts, got Google to disable its apps, and sued it for breach, fraud, tortious interference, and unfair competition.

Facebook is required to “police” third-party data practices under a Federal Trade Commission consent decree—part...