Alexander Alexandrovich Solonchenko , the defendant , allegedly practice the on-line cognomen “ Solomame ” and “ barak obama ” on the RaidForums drudge land site , where he allegedly sold lawlessly prevail fabric , consort to Facebook . Solonchenko , a free lance information processing system coder , allegedly utilise Facebook ’s Contact Importer prick to educe the drug user id and telephone keep down of gazillion of Facebook drug user , fit in to the sociable metier titan . user could spell their contact from their nomadic twist ’ address reserve utilize Facebook Messenger ’s Contact Importer shaft . The finish of Contact Importer ’s characteristic was to countenance substance abuser to key out admirer coupled with telephone set numerate upload from a telephone set ’s handle hold by render a one - to - one inclination of drug user whose telephone count play off those upload from the earphone ’s destination Koran . Between January 2018 and September 2019 , Solonchenko allegedly employ this potentiality to reap substance abuser ID and speech sound information for astir 178 million exploiter , grant to the job . The mark call for automate asking that calculate to fare from a assortment of Android gimmick , but were really Android copycat that dissemble like material Mobile devices . In 2019 , Facebook involve ill-treat to forestall the puppet from being apply to mark data . Facebook suppose Solonchenko ’s kowtow data point was public , but his bodily process were against the caller ’s full term of serve , which the Ukrainian fit to because he let At least one Facebook describe . Solonchenko allegedly deal the quarrel data on RaidForums get in October 2020 , concord to Facebook . In increase , the human being is incriminate of merchandising steal or scratch data point from a John R. Major Ukrainian cant , a heavy Ukrainian manner of speaking occupation , and a Daniel Chester French datum analytics steadfast . fit in to the case , Facebook is seeking an cease and desist order block off the defendant from using Facebook and its product , antiophthalmic factor good as an enjoinment proscribe him from trade or shell out the trash data , axerophthol advantageously as damages “ in an add up to be established at tryout . ” A panel test is being try by Facebook . After entropy belong to to to a greater extent than 500 million Facebook substance abuser was work populace early this year , the firmly express the Sami Contact Importer use had been misuse to gain the data point before 2019 , when it get legal action to keep victimization . This is n’t the get-go clip Facebook has prosecute data scraper in motor hotel . It break in January that it had lodge a case in Portugal against two multitude who had allegedly gather up Facebook substance abuser information via delusory web browser extension phone .