A Facebook page
Facebook has asked the court to dismiss a $100 million suit that says the social networking company needs users' consent to use their likenesses to advertise its Friend Finder feature. REUTERS

Facebook has moved to dismiss a class action suit that charges the company is advertising its Friend Finder service with users' likenesses without their consent.

The original complaint was filed on Nov. 22 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. It says Facebook, when it used members' photos in the advertisement for its Friend Finder service, gave the impression - at least implicitly - that the people who appear in the ad were endorsing the feature.

The suit claims Facebook is thus liable for damages, amounting to $750 for each time the advertisement appears and damages of not less than $100 million.

In the motion to dismiss, Facebook's lawyers say Facebook users are bound by the terms of service of the site, which says that Facebook can use profile information in just that way. The motion also says the plaintiffs don't show that there was any real injury, monetary or otherwise.

This isn't the first lawsuit surrounding use of profile information or privacy Facebook has faced.

In 2009, a suit was filed in California's Orange County Superior Court on behalf of two children under the age of 13, which accused the company of sharing their private information for commercial purposes. Meanwhile, the Canadian privacy commissioner has been investigating the company over its retention of data - even after users have deleted their accounts.

In July, another suit was filed in Canada, arguing that the changes Facebook made in its privacy settings decreased the control users have over their information and put them at risk for identity theft. The changes, the suit says, were made without the users' consent.

Facebook Advertising Court California