Meta prohibits surveillance-for-hire companies from targeting users.

Meta, the company that owns Facebook, says it has barred seven surveillance firms from targeting users on its platforms.

According to a new Meta report, approximately 50,000 users will receive warnings about “malicious activities.”
It accused surveillance firms of actions such as creating fake accounts, befriending targets, and harvesting information through hacking methods.The companies were accused of targeting individuals such as journalists and human rights activists, according to the company.

According to the report, Meta suspended approximately 1,500 pages across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp after a months-long investigation.According to Meta, the companies targeted people in over 100 countries on behalf of their clients.Following earlier this year’s allegations about the Pegasus spyware targeting thousands, Thursday’s report adds more scrutiny to the surveillance industry.

Facebook has already filed a lawsuit against Pegasus’s owners, NSO Group, for allegedly spreading software via WhatsApp. Last month, the US government blacklisted the company and others, accusing them of providing spyware to foreign governments in order for them to “maliciously target” individuals.

Meta named Israeli firm Black Cube, which rose to prominence after it was revealed that Harvey Weinstein had hired them to spy on women accusing him of sexual assault.
Black Cube denied “phishing or hacking” in a statement to Reuters, saying all of its agents’ activities were “fully compliant with local laws.”

According to Meta officials, users who were impacted by the activity would receive automated warnings that they had been impacted but would not be given specifics.