Meta's Facebook Accused Of Monitoring Snapchat, YouTube And Amazon Users In 'Project Ghostbusters

Newly unsealed court documents from California reveal that Meta-owned Facebook was engaged in monitoring users of social media competitors Snapchat, Google-owned YouTube, and Amazon, according to ABP reports. This project, dubbed "Project Ghostbusters," involved intercepting and decrypting network traffic of Snapchat users, as reported by the media.

Initiated in 2016, Facebook's covert project aimed to intercept and decrypt network traffic between Snapchat users' app and servers. The objective was to gain insights into user behavior and enhance Facebook's competitive edge against Snapchat, according to recently unsealed court documents. The project, nicknamed "Project Ghostbusters" by Facebook, is a clear reference to Snapchat's ghost logo.

Part of a class action lawsuit involving consumers and Meta, the disclosed documents reveal how Facebook scrutinized network traffic of users interacting with its competitors. To overcome encryption methods used by platforms like Snapchat, Facebook developed specialized technology to monitor user activity on other platforms.

TechCrunch reported on an internal email dated June 9, 2016, in which Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg expressed the need for reliable analytics on Snapchat due to its encrypted traffic and rapid growth. He suggested exploring panels or developing custom software for this purpose.

Following Zuckerberg's email, Facebook developers proposed using Onavo, a VPN-like service acquired by Facebook in 2013. The Onavo team subsequently devised a solution involving the installation of 'kits' on Android and iOS devices.

In a separate email, Facebook mentioned that the technique, essentially a man-in-the-middle attack, enabled them to "read what would otherwise be encrypted traffic so we can measure in-app usage." Court documents indicate that Facebook later extended the program to monitor activity on YouTube and Amazon.

According to a TechCrunch report, another email stated, "We now have the capability to measure detailed in-app activity" from "parsing snapchat [sic] analytics collected from incentivized participants in Onavo's research program."