Case 3:21-cv-08230-LB Document 1 Filed 10/21/21 Page 1 of 36
`
`
`
`HUNTON ANDREWS KURTH LLP
`Ann Marie Mortimer (State Bar No. 169077)
`amortimer@HuntonAK.com
`Jason J. Kim (State Bar No. 221476)
`kimj@HuntonAK.com
`Jeff R. R. Nelson (State Bar No. 301546)
`jnelson@HuntonAK.com
`550 South Hope Street, Suite 2000
`Los Angeles, California 90071-2627
`Telephone: (213) 532-2000
`Facsimile: (213) 532-2020
`
`Attorneys for Plaintiff
`FACEBOOK, INC.
`
`
`UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
`
`NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
`
`OAKLAND/SAN FRANCISCO DIVISION
`
`
`FACEBOOK, INC., a Delaware
`corporation,
`
`
`
`Plaintiff,
`
`
`
`CASE NO.: 3:21-cv-08230
`
`COMPLAINT; DEMAND FOR JURY
`TRIAL
`
`v.
`
`
`
`ALEXANDER ALEXANDROVICH
`SOLONCHENKO, also known as
`“Solomame,”
`
`
`
`Defendant.
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`COMPLAINT; DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
`
`3:21-cv-08230
`
`1
`
`2
`
`3
`
`4
`
`5
`
`6
`
`7
`
`8
`
`9
`
`10
`
`11
`
`12
`
`13
`
`14
`
`15
`
`16
`
`17
`
`18
`
`19
`
`20
`
`21
`
`22
`
`23
`
`24
`
`25
`
`26
`
`27
`
`28
`
`Los Angeles, California 90071-2627
`550 South Hope Street, Suite 2000
`Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
`
`
`
`

`

`Case 3:21-cv-08230-LB Document 1 Filed 10/21/21 Page 2 of 36
`
`
`
`Plaintiff Facebook, Inc. (“Facebook”) asserts the following:
`
`INTRODUCTION
`
`1.
`
`Between January 2018 and September 2019, Defendant Alexander
`
`Alexandrovich Solonchenko, also known as “Solomame,” scraped publicly accessible
`
`information (Facebook user ID and phone number) for approximately 178 million
`
`Facebook users. Solonchenko used a computer program to deliver automated requests
`
`to Facebook computers, meanwhile pretending to be multiple Android devices
`
`connected to Facebook’s Messenger mobile app.
`
`2.
`
`Beginning in October 2020, Solonchenko sold data on RaidForums.com
`
`(“RaidForums”). RaidForums is an online marketplace used to sell and distribute
`
`scraped, stolen, and leaked data. Since 2020, Solonchenko has sold stolen or scraped
`
`data from Ukraine's largest commercial bank, Ukraine’s largest private delivery service,
`
`and a French data analytics company. In May 2021, Solonchenko also sold the data
`
`that he had scraped from Facebook between January 2018 and September 2019, namely,
`
`Facebook user IDs and phone numbers.
`
`3.
`
`Solonchenko’s conduct violated Facebook’s Terms of Service and
`
`Platform Terms. Facebook now seeks injunctive and other relief.
`
`PARTIES
`
`4.
`
`Plaintiff Facebook, Inc., is a Delaware corporation with its principal place
`
`of business in Menlo Park, San Mateo County, California. Plaintiff owns and operates
`
`several products, including Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger.
`
`5.
`
`Solonchenko resides in Kirovograd, Ukraine. Solonchenko worked as a
`
`freelance computer programmer with experience working with several programming
`
`languages including Python, PHP, and Xrumer, which is a software used for spamming;
`
`automating tasks on Android emulators; and conducting affiliate marketing. Ex. 1.
`
`Until in or around June 2019, Solonchenko also sold shoes online under the business
`
`name “Drop Top.”
`
`1
`
`2
`
`3
`
`4
`
`5
`
`6
`
`7
`
`8
`
`9
`
`10
`
`11
`
`12
`
`13
`
`14
`
`15
`
`16
`
`17
`
`18
`
`19
`
`20
`
`21
`
`22
`
`23
`
`24
`
`25
`
`26
`
`27
`
`28
`
`
`
`1
`COMPLAINT; DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
`
`3:21-cv-08230
`
`Los Angeles, California 90071-2627
`550 South Hope Street, Suite 2000
`Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
`
`
`
`

`

`Case 3:21-cv-08230-LB Document 1 Filed 10/21/21 Page 3 of 36
`
`
`
`6.
`
`Solonchenko also scraped and sold data to make money. Specifically,
`
`since October 2020, Solonchenko used the aliases “solomame” and “barak_obama” on
`
`RaidForums to sell scraped and other data. Ex. 2. Defendant sold and distributed data
`
`scraped or stolen from different websites and companies, including financial
`
`institutions, logistic companies, and analytics companies located in Ukraine and
`
`elsewhere. On RaidForums, Solonchenko directed the potential buyers of data to
`
`contact him using the messaging service Telegram. Solonchenko used the Telegram
`
`accounts @not_a_wolf and @salampopolani. On
`
`the employment website
`
`freelancehunt.com, Solonchenko used the username “Alexander S,” Skype ID
`
`“solomame,” and email address aa_solonchenko@mail.ru. Ex. 3. Solonchenko used
`
`multiple email addresses, including solomame@icloud.com, weeeble@bk.ru, and
`
`grant2.grant2@yandex.ru; and phone number +38099497401. On August 7, 2017,
`
`Solonchenko registered the domain name theblackmask.top using the name “Aleksandr
`
`A Soloncheko” with email address aa_solonchenko@mail.ru, and phone number
`
`+38099497401. Ex. 4. Solonchenko listed his city, state, and country as Kirovograd,
`
`Kirovogradskaya, Ukraine. Id.
`
`Figure 1: Solonchenko December 2019
`
`
`
`
`
`2
`COMPLAINT; DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
`
`3:21-cv-08230
`
`1
`
`2
`
`3
`
`4
`
`5
`
`6
`
`7
`
`8
`
`9
`
`10
`
`11
`
`12
`
`13
`
`14
`
`15
`
`16
`
`17
`
`18
`
`19
`
`20
`
`21
`
`22
`
`23
`
`24
`
`25
`
`26
`
`27
`
`28
`
`Los Angeles, California 90071-2627
`550 South Hope Street, Suite 2000
`Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
`
`
`
`

`

`Case 3:21-cv-08230-LB Document 1 Filed 10/21/21 Page 4 of 36
`
`
`
`JURISDICTION AND VENUE
`
`7.
`
`The Court has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332 over the cause of action
`
`alleged in this Complaint because complete diversity exists and the amount in
`
`controversy exceeds $75,000.
`
`8.
`
`Solonchenko used and controlled at least one Facebook account and
`
`thereby agreed to the Facebook Terms of Service. The Court has personal jurisdiction
`
`over Solonchenko because the Facebook Terms of Service contain a forum selection
`
`clause that requires this Complaint be brought in the U.S. District Court for the Northern
`
`District of California or a state court located in San Mateo County, and that
`
`Solonchenko submit to the personal jurisdiction of either of those courts for litigating
`
`this matter.
`
`9.
`
`The Court also has personal jurisdiction over Solonchenko because
`
`Solonchenko knowingly directed and targeted his conduct at California, including at
`
`Facebook, which has its principal place of business in California, and at Facebook users
`
`located in California. Facebook’s claims arise directly from and relate to Solonchenko’s
`
`activities described in this Complaint and activities in and directed at California.
`
`10. Venue is proper in this District pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1391(b) as the
`
`threatened and actual harm to Facebook occurred in this District.
`
`11. Pursuant to Civil L.R. 3-2(c), this case may be assigned to either the San
`
`Francisco or Oakland division because Facebook is located in San Mateo County.
`
`FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS
`
`A. Background on Facebook Products
`
`12. Plaintiff owns and operates Facebook, a social networking website and
`
`mobile application that enables its users to create their own personal profiles and
`
`connect with each other on their personal computers and mobile devices. Plaintiff owns
`
`and operates several products in addition to Facebook, including Instagram and
`
`Messenger (collectively “Facebook Products”).
`
`1
`
`2
`
`3
`
`4
`
`5
`
`6
`
`7
`
`8
`
`9
`
`10
`
`11
`
`12
`
`13
`
`14
`
`15
`
`16
`
`17
`
`18
`
`19
`
`20
`
`21
`
`22
`
`23
`
`24
`
`25
`
`26
`
`27
`
`28
`
`
`
`3
`COMPLAINT; DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
`
`3:21-cv-08230
`
`Los Angeles, California 90071-2627
`550 South Hope Street, Suite 2000
`Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
`
`
`
`

`

`Case 3:21-cv-08230-LB Document 1 Filed 10/21/21 Page 5 of 36
`
`
`
`1
`
`2
`
`3
`
`4
`
`5
`
`6
`
`7
`
`8
`
`9
`
`10
`
`11
`
`12
`
`13
`
`14
`
`15
`
`16
`
`17
`
`18
`
`19
`
`20
`
`21
`
`22
`
`23
`
`24
`
`25
`
`26
`
`27
`
`28
`
`13. To access Facebook and view certain user profiles, Facebook requires that
`
`each user create a Facebook account. To create a Facebook account, Facebook requires
`
`each user to register with a unique username and password.
`
`14. Registered users can create user profiles and include information about
`
`themselves, including their email address, phone numbers, and date of birth. Registered
`
`Facebook users can make connections on Facebook by becoming “Friends” with other
`
`Facebook users.
`
`15. Facebook provides its users with control over how to customize their
`
`profiles and how much personal information to include in their profile. In addition,
`
`Facebook’s privacy settings provide users with control over how much profile
`
`information is viewable publicly and searchable, to other Facebook users, or to the
`
`users’ Friends.
`
`16. Facebook Messenger is a messaging app and platform that allows direct
`
`messaging, video and voice calls, and the ability to share photos, videos, audio, and
`
`files, among other features. A Facebook account is required to use Messenger.
`
`Messenger included a feature called “Contact Importer” that allowed a user to upload
`
`their contacts from the address book on their mobile devices.
`
`17. Between in and around June 2015 and September 2019, Messenger
`
`Contact Importer included a functionality that would return a one-to-one list of any
`
`Facebook users that matched phone numbers uploaded from the address book on a
`
`user’s mobile device (“CI matching function”). The feature allowed users to upload
`
`their contacts from mobile devices and identify their friends and others associated with
`
`the uploaded phone numbers. The CI matching function was limited by a user’s privacy
`
`settings; that is, it only identified a user with a matching phone number if that user’s
`
`privacy settings permitted them to be searched for by phone number. If a user’s phone
`
`searchability setting was set to “Friends,” only that user’s Facebook “Friends” could
`
`find the user through the CI matching function. If on the other hand, a user’s phone
`
`searchability setting allowed “everyone” to search for them by phone number, other
`
`
`
`4
`COMPLAINT; DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
`
`3:21-cv-08230
`
`Los Angeles, California 90071-2627
`550 South Hope Street, Suite 2000
`Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
`
`
`
`

`

`Case 3:21-cv-08230-LB Document 1 Filed 10/21/21 Page 6 of 36
`
`
`
`1
`
`2
`
`3
`
`4
`
`5
`
`6
`
`7
`
`8
`
`9
`
`10
`
`11
`
`12
`
`13
`
`14
`
`15
`
`16
`
`17
`
`18
`
`19
`
`20
`
`21
`
`22
`
`23
`
`24
`
`25
`
`26
`
`27
`
`28
`
`users could find that user using the CI matching function even if they were not “Friends”
`
`with that user on Facebook. Since September 2019, Messenger Contact Importer no
`
`longer returns one-to-one lists of matched phone numbers.
`
`B.
`
`Facebook’s Terms of Service and the Platform Terms
`
`18. All Facebook users must agree to Facebook’s Terms of Service (available
`
`at https://www.facebook.com/terms.php) and other rules, including the Platform Terms,
`
`that govern access to, and use of, Facebook and the Facebook Platform. Facebook’s
`
`Terms of Service also govern the use of Facebook Messenger.
`
`19. Section 3.2.1 of the Facebook Terms of Service prohibits users from
`
`“do[ing] . . . anything unlawful, misleading, [ ] or fraudulent” or facilitating or
`
`supporting others in doing so.
`
`20. Section 3.2.3 of the Facebook Terms of Service prohibits “access[ing] or
`
`collect[ing] data from [Facebook] Products using automated means (without our
`
`permission) or attempt[ing] to access data you don’t have permission to access.”
`
`21. Section 1 of the Platform Terms state that they apply to the use of
`
`Facebook’s APIs, code, technology, content, and services that enable the retrieval of
`
`data from Facebook computers and Facebook Products.
`
`22. Section 12(j) of the Platform Terms defines “Platform Data” as any
`
`information, data, or other content a user obtains from Facebook or Facebook Products
`
`through the Platform, as defined by section 12(i) of the Platform Terms, whether
`
`directly or indirectly.
`
`23. Section 3(a)(iv) of the Platform Terms prohibits the sale of Platform Data.
`
`24. Section 3(a)(v) of the Platform Terms prohibits “[p]lacing Platform Data
`
`on, or otherwise making Platform Data available to, a search engine or directory without
`
`[Facebook’s] prior express written consent.”
`
`C. Background on Phone Number Enumeration Scraping
`
`25. Phone lookup or finder features, such as whitepages.com, are programmed
`
`to provide available information about the user of a phone number. “Phone number
`
`
`
`5
`COMPLAINT; DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
`
`3:21-cv-08230
`
`Los Angeles, California 90071-2627
`550 South Hope Street, Suite 2000
`Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
`
`
`
`

`

`Case 3:21-cv-08230-LB Document 1 Filed 10/21/21 Page 7 of 36
`
`
`
`enumeration scraping” was the process of using automation software to (a) manufacture
`
`auto-generated lists of phone numbers and (b) upload the lists to websites with phone
`
`lookup or finder features, in order to scrape information associated with that phone
`
`number.
`
`26. Phone number enumeration scraping in the context of Messenger Contact
`
`Importer generally involved the following steps:
`
`a.
`
` A computer program would be used to auto-generate lists of phone
`
`numbers. These lists could be curated based on telephone area code and target densely
`
`populated areas that have a high number of mobile phone numbers.
`
`b.
`
`The auto-generated lists of phone numbers were used to create files
`
`consistent with phone contacts on various simulated mobile devices (also known as
`
`Android or Apple iOS emulators). The emulators were programmed to mimic real
`
`mobile devices when connected to Facebook computers in order to use the Messenger
`
`Contact Importer function, which was restricted to logged-in authenticated Messenger
`
`users.
`
`c.
`
`The emulators were used to upload the auto-generated phone
`
`contacts to Facebook computers through the Messenger Contact Importer feature. If a
`
`phone number on the auto-generated list matched a real phone number listed on a user’s
`
`account, and if the user’s phone searchability setting allowed “everyone” to search for
`
`the user by phone number, that user’s Facebook ID and name were returned and could
`
`be scraped.
`
`D. Defendant Agreed to Facebook’s Terms of Service and Platform
`
`Terms
`
`27. Between January 7, 2015, and October 13, 2021, Solonchenko created and
`
`used at least two Facebook accounts, and therefore, agreed to the Facebook Terms of
`
`Service.
`
`1
`
`2
`
`3
`
`4
`
`5
`
`6
`
`7
`
`8
`
`9
`
`10
`
`11
`
`12
`
`13
`
`14
`
`15
`
`16
`
`17
`
`18
`
`19
`
`20
`
`21
`
`22
`
`23
`
`24
`
`25
`
`26
`
`27
`
`28
`
`Los Angeles, California 90071-2627
`550 South Hope Street, Suite 2000
`Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
`
`
`
`
`
`6
`COMPLAINT; DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
`
`3:21-cv-08230
`
`

`

`Case 3:21-cv-08230-LB Document 1 Filed 10/21/21 Page 8 of 36
`
`
`
`1
`
`2
`
`3
`
`4
`
`5
`
`6
`
`7
`
`8
`
`9
`
`10
`
`11
`
`12
`
`13
`
`14
`
`15
`
`16
`
`17
`
`18
`
`19
`
`20
`
`21
`
`22
`
`23
`
`24
`
`25
`
`26
`
`27
`
`28
`
`a.
`
`Solonchenko created a Facebook account on January 7, 2015, with
`
`the username “Mark Twen,” and phone number +380994097401. The current email
`
`address associated with the account is grant2.grant2@yandex.ru.
`
`b.
`
`Solonchenko created a Facebook account on August 31, 2020, with
`
`the username “Drop Top.”
`
`28. Between October 12, 2019, and October 13, 2021, Solonchenko created
`
`and controlled two Facebook apps and therefore agreed to the Platform Terms. The
`
`apps were named “klklkl” and “Mark’s first app.”
`
`29. Between February 28, 2019, and July 23, 2019, Solonchenko created and
`
`controlled a Facebook Page named “Drop Top.” Solonchenko’s Facebook accounts –
`
`“Drop Top” and “Mark Twen” – were administrators of the Drop Top Facebook Page.
`
`30. Between January 18, 2015, and October 13, 2021, Solonchenko created or
`
`controlled at least five Instagram accounts.
`
`a.
`
`Solonchenko created an Instagram account on January 18, 2015,
`
`using
`
`the name “Экий Некий,” username “ekyneky,” and email address
`
`grant2.grant2@yandex.ru.
`
`b.
`
`Solonchenko created an Instagram account on August 29, 2018,
`
`using the name “Noname nofame,” username “nnnofame,” and phone number
`
`+380994097401.
`
`c.
`
`Solonchenko created an Instagram account on December 12, 2019,
`
`using the name “Mark Twen,” username “grant2.grant2,” and phone number
`
`+380994097401.
`
`d.
`
`Solonchenko created an Instagram account on December 17, 2019,
`
`using the name “fetzer woodie,” username “fetserwoodie8803,” and email address
`
`aa_solonchenko@mail.ru.
`
`e.
`
`Solonchenko created an Instagram account on February 28, 2019,
`
`using the name “Drop Top,” username “dropoftop,” phone number +3809947401, and
`
`email account solomame@icloud.com.
`
`
`
`7
`COMPLAINT; DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
`
`3:21-cv-08230
`
`Los Angeles, California 90071-2627
`550 South Hope Street, Suite 2000
`Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
`
`
`
`

`

`Case 3:21-cv-08230-LB Document 1 Filed 10/21/21 Page 9 of 36
`
`
`
`E.
`
`Background on RaidForums
`
`31. RaidForums is an online marketplace where users of the forum openly
`
`discuss the collection and sale of scraped, stolen, and leaked data. Ex. 5. RaidForums
`
`was started in 2015 by a user with the online aliases “Omnipotent,” and “Omni,” who
`
`still operates the forum as an administrator. As of August 2, 2021, RaidForums had
`
`over 640,000 registered users participating in discussion topics dedicated to gaming,
`
`scraped, stolen, and leaked data, and hacking. Id. For example, in July 2021, public
`
`reports stated that scraped user profile information (name, gender, email, and telephone
`
`number) for 700 million LinkedIn users was offered for sale on RaidForums.1
`
`F. Defendant Used Automated Means to Access and Scrape Data from
`
`Facebook
`
`32. Beginning no later than January 2018, Solonchenko used automated means
`
`to access Facebook computers and to scrape Facebook user IDs and phone numbers
`
`without Facebook’s permission, in violation of Facebook’s Terms of Service. Exs. 6
`
`and 7. Solonchenko used phone number enumeration scraping of Messenger Contact
`
`Importer to scrape the user IDs and phone numbers of approximately 178 million
`
`Facebook users. Ex. 7.
`
`33. As described below in paragraph 38, on December 1, 2020, Solonchenko
`
`created a post on RaidForums in which he claimed that he scraped data from Facebook.
`
`Ex. 6. Specifically, Solonchenko wrote, “I collected this database [of Facebook user
`
`IDs and phone numbers] during 2018y, it’s unique and nobody sales exact that leak
`
`(sic), I collected it by myself scanning [Facebook] day-by-day during a year (sic).” Id.
`
`
`
`1 See https://www.forbes.com/sites/leemathews/2021/06/29/details-on-700-million-
`linkedin-users-for-sale-on-notorious-hacking-forum/?sh=10d21a4e34a4
`
`
`
`8
`COMPLAINT; DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
`
`3:21-cv-08230
`
`1
`
`2
`
`3
`
`4
`
`5
`
`6
`
`7
`
`8
`
`9
`
`10
`
`11
`
`12
`
`13
`
`14
`
`15
`
`16
`
`17
`
`18
`
`19
`
`20
`
`21
`
`22
`
`23
`
`24
`
`25
`
`26
`
`27
`
`28
`
`Los Angeles, California 90071-2627
`550 South Hope Street, Suite 2000
`Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
`
`
`
`

`

`Case 3:21-cv-08230-LB Document 1 Filed 10/21/21 Page 10 of 36
`
`
`
`G. Defendant Sold Data Collected from Facebook on RaidForums in
`
`Violation of Facebook’s Platform Terms
`
`34. On or about October 1, 2020, Solonchenko created an account on
`
`RaidForums using the username “Solomame.” On January 18, 2021, Solonchenko
`
`changed his username on RaidForums from “Solomame” to “barak_obama.” Ex. 2.
`
`35. Since October 1, 2020, Solonchenko has used RaidForums to sell and
`
`distribute data obtained from various businesses, including Nova Poshta, which is the
`
`largest private delivery company in Ukraine, and PrivatBank, which is the largest
`
`commercial financial institution in Ukraine. Solonchenko also used RaidForums to sell
`
`data scraped from Facebook in violation of Facebook’s Terms of Service and Platform
`
`Terms.
`
`36. On October 24, 2020, as shown below in Figure 2, Solonchenko created a
`
`post on RaidForums in which he offered to sell a dataset of records of 18 million users
`
`or customers of a company called Nova Poshta, which was the largest private delivery
`
`company in Ukraine. Ex. 8. According to public reporting from February 2018, two
`
`customer datasets (one containing records for 500,000 customers and another
`
`containing records for 18 million customers) were leaked from Nova Poshta and were
`
`being sold on the internet.2 Although Solonchenko denied being the person that scraped
`
`the data, stating “leak not made by me,” he offered information about how others could
`
`scrape data from Nova Posta through one of its Application Platform Interfaces and
`
`offered to provide others with a “python script,” or computer code, to scrape the data.
`
`Figure 2: Text of Solonchenko October 24, 2020 RaidForums Post
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`2 See https://www.unian.info/society/2386634-nova-poshta-postal-services-massive-
`customer-base-put-up-for-sale-in-darknet-media.html.
`
`
`
`9
`COMPLAINT; DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
`
`3:21-cv-08230
`
`1
`
`2
`
`3
`
`4
`
`5
`
`6
`
`7
`
`8
`
`9
`
`10
`
`11
`
`12
`
`13
`
`14
`
`15
`
`16
`
`17
`
`18
`
`19
`
`20
`
`21
`
`22
`
`23
`
`24
`
`25
`
`26
`
`27
`
`28
`
`Los Angeles, California 90071-2627
`550 South Hope Street, Suite 2000
`Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
`
`
`
`

`

`Case 3:21-cv-08230-LB Document 1 Filed 10/21/21 Page 11 of 36
`
`
`
`37. On October 24, 2020, as shown below in Figure 3, Solonchenko created a
`
`post on RaidForums in which he offered to sell a dataset of records of over 10 million
`
`users or customers of a financial institution in Ukraine called PrivatBank. Ex. 9. As of
`
`2021, PrivatBank, which was nationalized in 2016, is the largest commercial bank in
`
`Ukraine.3 Solonchenko offered the PrivatBank records for “free” and wrote that he
`
`“[h]ope[d] [the records from PrivatBank] will help someone!”
`
`Figure 3: Text of Solonchenko October 24, 2020 RaidForums Post
`
`
`
`38. On December 1, 2020, as shown below in Figure 4, Solonchenko created
`
`a post on RaidForums in which he wrote that he scraped data from Facebook in 2018
`
`and offered to sell the complete dataset or portions of the dataset. Ex. 6. Specifically,
`
`Solonchenko wrote, “I collected this database during 2018y, it’s unique and nobody
`
`sales exact that leak (sic). I collected it by myself scanning fb day-by-day during a year
`
`(sic).” Solonchenko invited those interested in purchasing the Facebook dataset to
`
`contact him on Telegram at @not_a_wolf. Id. Solonchenko also suggested that
`
`“Omni,” the RaidForums’ admin, could serve as the escrow agent to facilitate the sale
`
`of the Facebook data. Between December 3, 2020, and January 3, 2021, Solonchenko
`
`promoted the sale of this scraped data on RaidForums.
`
`
`
`3 See https://www.globalcapital.com/article/28wqcf0bsm4qob7dcmdxc/emerging-
`markets/em-cee/ukraine-central-bank-chief-shevchenko-on-independence-imf-cash-
`and-privatbank
`
`
`
`10
`COMPLAINT; DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
`
`3:21-cv-08230
`
`1
`
`2
`
`3
`
`4
`
`5
`
`6
`
`7
`
`8
`
`9
`
`10
`
`11
`
`12
`
`13
`
`14
`
`15
`
`16
`
`17
`
`18
`
`19
`
`20
`
`21
`
`22
`
`23
`
`24
`
`25
`
`26
`
`27
`
`28
`
`Los Angeles, California 90071-2627
`550 South Hope Street, Suite 2000
`Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
`
`
`
`

`

`Case 3:21-cv-08230-LB Document 1 Filed 10/21/21 Page 12 of 36
`
`
`
`Figure 4: Text of Solonchenko December 1, 2020 RaidForums Post
`
`
`
`39. On February 2, 2021, as shown below in Figure 5, Solonchenko created a
`
`post on RaidForums in which he offered to sell a dataset of records of 245 million users
`
`or customers from a French marketing analytics company called Acuity Data. Ex. 10.
`
`More specifically, Solonchenko wrote, “Item: Database of company called Acuity
`
`(acuity-data.com now part of liveramp) . . . Every string contains unique phone, totally
`
`245 [million of] mixed landlines/mobiles (sic) phones.”
`
`Figure 5: Text of Solonchenko February 2, 2021 RaidForums Post
`
`40. On May 24, 2021, as shown below in Figure 6, Solonchenko created a post
`
`on RaidForums in which he offered to sell several databases of stolen data. Ex. 7. First,
`
`Solonchenko again offered to sell a dataset obtained from Acuity (described in
`
`
`
`
`
`11
`COMPLAINT; DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
`
`3:21-cv-08230
`
`1
`
`2
`
`3
`
`4
`
`5
`
`6
`
`7
`
`8
`
`9
`
`10
`
`11
`
`12
`
`13
`
`14
`
`15
`
`16
`
`17
`
`18
`
`19
`
`20
`
`21
`
`22
`
`23
`
`24
`
`25
`
`26
`
`27
`
`28
`
`Los Angeles, California 90071-2627
`550 South Hope Street, Suite 2000
`Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
`
`
`
`

`

`Case 3:21-cv-08230-LB Document 1 Filed 10/21/21 Page 13 of 36
`
`
`
`paragraph 39) at a reduced price. Second, Solonchenko offered a database of 186
`
`million mobile phone records from an unidentified source.
`
`41. Further, Solonchenko offered to sell a dataset of about 180 million
`
`Facebook users. More specifically, Solonchenko wrote, “I also have some other DBs,
`
`consumers lists (sic), B2B dbs all over the world, phone dbs, [and] non-public fb data
`
`(180m for USA).” In fact, the dataset contained publicly accessible phone numbers and
`
`Facebook user IDs for approximately 178 million Facebook users, predominantly
`
`located in the United States. Solonchenko used phone number enumeration scaping of
`
`Messenger Contact Importer to obtain this dataset prior to September 2019.
`
`Figure 6: Text of Solonchenko May 24, 2021 RaidForums Post
`
`
`
`H.
`
`Facebook’s Anti-Scraping and Enforcement Efforts
`
`42. Facebook took several measures to limit phone number enumeration
`
`scraping. First, Facebook used technical anti-scraping measures to detect and disrupt
`
`unauthorized automated requests on its systems. Second, only an authenticated user
`
`could use Messenger Contact Importer. In other words, in order to use Messenger
`
`
`
`12
`COMPLAINT; DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
`
`3:21-cv-08230
`
`1
`
`2
`
`3
`
`4
`
`5
`
`6
`
`7
`
`8
`
`9
`
`10
`
`11
`
`12
`
`13
`
`14
`
`15
`
`16
`
`17
`
`18
`
`19
`
`20
`
`21
`
`22
`
`23
`
`24
`
`25
`
`26
`
`27
`
`28
`
`Los Angeles, California 90071-2627
`550 South Hope Street, Suite 2000
`Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
`
`
`
`

`

`1
`
`2
`
`3
`
`4
`
`5
`
`6
`
`7
`
`8
`
`9
`
`10
`
`11
`
`12
`
`13
`
`14
`
`15
`
`16
`
`17
`
`18
`
`19
`
`20
`
`21
`
`22
`
`23
`
`24
`
`25
`
`26
`
`27
`
`28
`
`Case 3:21-cv-08230-LB Document 1 Filed 10/21/21 Page 14 of 36
`
`
`
`Contact Importer a person would first need to create a user account and then login to
`
`Messenger using their account password. Third, between February 2018 and December
`
`2018, Facebook set limits for the number of contacts that could be uploaded through
`
`Messenger Contact Importer and the frequency at which those phone numbers could be
`
`submitted. Finally, since September 2019, Messenger Contact Importer no longer
`
`returns one-to-one lists of matched phone numbers.
`
`43. Further, Facebook has disabled Solonchenko’s Facebook and Instagram
`
`accounts and revoked his access to Facebook and Facebook Products.
`
`I.
`
`Defendant’s Acts Harmed Facebook
`
`44. Solonchenko’s violations of Facebook’s Terms of Service and the Platform
`
`Terms have harmed Facebook.
`
`45. Facebook has suffered damages attributable to the efforts and resources it
`
`has used to investigate, remediate, and respond to Solonchenko’s conduct as described
`
`in this Complaint in an amount to be determined at trial, and in excess of $75,000.
`
`CAUSE OF ACTION
`
`(Breach of Contract)
`
`46. Facebook realleges and incorporates all preceding paragraphs here.
`
`47. Between January 2015 and October 21, 2021, Solonchenko created and
`
`used multiple Facebook accounts and agreed to Facebook’s Terms of Service.
`
`48. Between October 12, 2019, and October 21, 2021, Solonchenko created
`
`and controlled two Facebook apps and agreed to the Platform Terms.
`
`49. The Facebook Terms of Service and Platform Terms constitute an
`
`agreement between Solonchenko and Facebook.
`
`50. Facebook has performed all conditions, covenants, and promises required
`
`of it in accordance with its agreements with Solonchenko.
`
`51. Solonchenko breached section 3.2.3 of the Facebook Terms of Service by
`
`using automated means to access and collect data from Facebook, namely Facebook
`
`user IDs and phone numbers, without Facebook’s permission.
`
`
`
`13
`COMPLAINT; DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
`
`3:21-cv-08230
`
`Los Angeles, California 90071-2627
`550 South Hope Street, Suite 2000
`Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
`
`
`
`

`

`Case 3:21-cv-08230-LB Document 1 Filed 10/21/21 Page 15 of 36
`
`
`
`52. Solonchenko breached section 3.2.1 of the Facebook Terms of Service
`
`because his conduct was misleading because he used an Android emulator and the
`
`phone enumeration scraping technique to communicate with Facebook computers
`
`which misrepresented to Facebook who was using Messenger Contact Importer.
`
`53. Solonchenko’s violation of the Facebook Terms of Service caused
`
`Facebook to incur damages in an amount to be determined at trial, and in excess of
`
`$75,000.
`
`PRAYER FOR RELIEF
`
`Facebook seeks judgment awarding the following relief:
`
`(a) An injunction restraining Solonchenko from accessing Facebook and
`
`Facebook Products;
`
`(b) An injunction restraining Solonchenko from selling or distributing data of
`
`any kind obtained from Facebook or Facebook Products, or purportedly obtained from
`
`Facebook or Facebook Products;
`
`(c) Damages in an amount to be determined at trial;
`
`(d) Pre-judgment and post-judgment interest; and
`
`(e) All other equitable or legal relief the Court deems just and proper.
`
`PLAINTIFF RESPECTFULLY DEMANDS A JURY TRIAL.
`
`Dated: October 21, 2021
`
`HUNTON ANDREWS KURTH LLP
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`By: /s/ Ann Marie Mortimer
`Ann Marie Mortimer
`Jason J. Kim
`Jeff R. R. Nelson
`Attorneys for Plaintiff
`FACEBOOK, INC.
`
`Platform Enforcement and Litigation
`Facebook, Inc.
` Jessica Romero
`Michael Chmelar
`Jimmy Doan
`
`073923.0000070 EMF_US 86431908v5
`
`
`14
`COMPLAINT; DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL
`
`3:21-cv-08230
`
`1
`
`2
`
`3
`
`4
`
`5
`
`6
`
`7
`
`8
`
`9
`
`10
`
`11
`
`12
`
`13
`
`14
`
`15
`
`16
`
`17
`
`18
`
`19
`
`20
`
`21
`
`22
`
`23
`
`24
`
`25
`
`26
`
`27
`
`28
`
`Los Angeles, California 90071-2627
`550 South Hope Street, Suite 2000
`Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
`
`
`
`

`

`
`
`Case 3:21-cv-08230-LB Document 1 Filed 10/21/21 Page 16 of 36
`Case 3:21-cv-08230-LB Document1 Filed 10/21/21 Page 16 of 36
`
`EXHIBIT 1
`
`EXHIBIT 1
`
`

`

`Eooo
`Case 3:21-cv-08230-LB Document 1 Filed 10/21/21 Page 17 of 36
`> AlexanderS.
`Case 3:21-cv-083
`pour ago
`eIs complete
`
`Rating
`Successful pro)
`88%
`
`Verified data
`
`Resume
`briefly about me:
`| do notlike long and pathetic resumes,
`Django, boot
`d
`decisions.
`bins
`on Android
`ion, parsers, autoreggers,
`including automating tasks
`working with:
`feed automa
`ions should definitely ber
`d to me,
`traffic on m
`in practice and car
`2 professionalinthe field of development of
`tising campaigns in CPA
`in
`as
`bot traffic
`traffic
`thegeneration of
`the
`same
`bot
`recognitionsystems,
`as
`well
`
`6.Lonty goto fr timesaday,ifyou need my advice,oryou have @check the PM a few
`
`
`
`project/proposal-please for youtocommunicatsend contacts, on whichit is convenient
`
`
`est
`of
`thetime Ido projects
`and
`family, so you save yourtime.
`
`
`7. Development of specif gines (asanexample-the engine for a network of sites of
`ntimate services), bots Telegram, Viber,
`WhatsApp.
`| your questions/your problem, i | haveexperienceamalways happy to give adetailed answer to
`
`
`
`
`
`n
`this
`
`3.1 do mailings,
`m, Whats
`
`Skills and abilities
`
`Page URL:https://freelancehunt.ua/freelancer/solomame.html
`
`ca reo
`2000
`26
`19 000 P
`20 000 P
`10008
`000 P
`15008
`10,000 €
`7500 P
`700 @
`1000 €
`
`Feedback and compliments about completedprojectsEd
`ao
`
`=
`sececrieerdriecrieee
`ware
`wieiaiiatyweet
`
`4@ Sparsit a small forum
`Took the project
`an
`just
`stopp
`
`Activity
`ee
`
`coe
`
`Cas ceeLy
`
`Co
`GoaPos
`
`Pee ee
`
`

`

`
`
`Case 3:21-cv-08230-LB Document 1 Filed 10/21/21 Page 18 of 36
`Case 3:21-cv-08230-LB Document1 Filed 10/21/21 Page 18 of 36
`
`EXHIBIT 2
`
`EXHIBIT 2
`
`

`

`Case 3:21-cv-08230-LB Document 1 Filed 10/21/21 Page 19 of 36
`
`2021-08-26 - Username history of RaidForums user barak_obama
`
`

`

`
`
`Case 3:21-cv-08230-LB Document 1 Filed 10/21/21 Page 20 of 36
`Case 3:21-cv-08230-LB Document1 Filed 10/21/21 Page 20 of 36
`
`EXHIBIT 3
`
`EXHIBIT 3
`
`

`

`Case 3:21-cv-08230-LB Document 1 Filed 10/21/21 Page 21 of 36
`
`2021-08-26 - Translated post from freelancehunt.com
`
`

`

`
`
`Case 3:21-cv-08230-LB Document 1 Filed 10/21/21 Page 22 of 36
`Case 3:21-cv-08230-LB Document1 Filed 10/21/21 Page 22 of 36
`
`EXHIBIT 4
`
`EXHIBIT 4
`
`

`

`Case 3:21-cv-08230-LB Document 1 Filed 10/21/21 Page 23 of 36
`
` Inspect: theblackmask.top
`
`Whois History
`
`2017-08-08 - (4 years ago)
`
`Domain
`
`theblackmask.top
`
`Record Date
`
`2017-08-08
`
`whois.nic.top
`
`Registrar
`
`Server
`
`Created
`
`Updated
`
`Expires
`
`Unique Emails
`
`abuse-contact@publicdomainregistry.com
`aa_solonchenko@mail.ru
`
`Domain Profile
`
`Screenshot History
`
`Hosting History
`
`SSL Profile
`
`2021-10-19 - theblackmask.top Domain Registrat