Discovery should move “with alacrity” for a trial, U.S. District Judge William Alsup said in his ruling. The judge did, however dismiss breach-of-contract and breach-of-confidence claims. Plaintiffs have until the 8th of July to amend their case.
“From a policy standpoint, to hold that Facebook has no duty of care here ‘would create perverse incentives for businesses who profit off the use of consumers’ personal data to turn a blind eye and ignore known security risks,”’ Judge Alsup said, citing a decision in a separate case.
Facebook has argued it is really the victim as the target of highly-sophisticated hack attacks — and that it ought not be liable for thieves gaining access to user names and contact information. Facebook also argued that while logins were compromised, data of real value like card numbers remained protected and unharmed.