Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. (AP/Eric Risberg) (AP/Eric Risberg)
Mark Zuckerberg

An Israeli court ruled on Tuesday that Facebook can be charged in Israel for violating the privacy of its users, even though the agreement between the social media website and its users states that the forum for such cases would be in California.

Israel Radio reported that the decision was announced following a request for a class action suit filed against Facebook by Ohad Ben Hamo for a sum of $400 million.

Ben Hamo argued that even though Facebook’s offices are in the United States and in Ireland, and its servers are not located in Israel, the website violates the privacy of its four million Israeli users by intercepting private messages sent by the users, and exploiting this information for advertising purposes.

By: United with Israel Staff