Ballejos v. Meta Platforms CA1/2, A167824

Leah Ballejos sued Facebook (now Meta) for allegedly failing to safeguard users’ personal data; she sought relief under California’s unfair competition law (UCL) and false advertising law (FAL).
The suit centered on third-party misuse of Facebook user data—a personality test app harvested both users’ and their friends’ data, which was then sold to Cambridge Analytica.
Plaintiffs asserted economic harm based on loss of value/control over their personal data and risks of identity theft, fraud, and unwanted targeted advertising.
The trial court sustained Facebook’s demurrer (dismissed the case) without leave to amend both the original and first amended complaints, finding no sufficiently pled economic injury or standing.
Ballejos appealed, arguing allegations of diminished value and lost control of her data should meet the standing requirement under the UCL and FAL.

Issue	Plaintiff’s Argument	Defendant’s Argument	Held
Whether Ballejos alleged economic injury sufficient for UCL/FAL standing	Alleged loss of value in personal data (even a “trifle”) is enough; no need to actually sell data	No specific loss; allegations too vague, speculative, or general; no demonstrable economic loss	Allegations too general/speculative; no concrete economic loss or standing
Whether generalized allegations about data value suffice	Market exists for user data; alleged decreased value from Facebook’s conduct	General claims about market insufficient without facts tying loss to plaintiff	Generalized, market-based allegations insufficient for standing
Whether potential, non-specific harms (like risk of fraud) confer standing	Risk of ID theft, negative impacts on essentials like insurance, demonstrate harm	Hypothetical or prospective risks aren’t actual or imminent injury	Hypothetical injuries do not meet standing requirements
Whether leave to amend should be granted	Should be permitted to amend to clarify new theories of economic harm	She already had chance; no new facts alleged on how amendment could cure defects	No abuse of discretion in denying leave to amend

Kwikset Corp. v. Superior Court, 51 Cal.4th 310 (Cal. 2011) (clarifies standing under UCL/FAL requires economic injury; purchasing product on false representation sufficient for standing)
City of Dinuba v. County of Tulare, 41 Cal.4th 859 (Cal. 2007) (standard for reviewing demurrer)
Archer v. United Rentals, Inc., 195 Cal.App.4th 807 (Cal. Ct. App. 2011) (lost personal info is not per se economic injury under UCL)
Fogelstrom v. Lamps Plus, Inc., 195 Cal.App.4th 986 (Cal. Ct. App. 2011) (no injury in fact for loss of intellectual property in ZIP code data)