Washington -
The Federal Trade Commission says the operators of a website called Jerk.com are the ones behaving badly.
The commission said on Monday that the website harvested personal information from Facebook to create profiles labelling people a “Jerk” or “not a Jerk”.
Jerk allegedly charged consumers $25 to email the company's customer service department.
Consumers were then told they could pay $30 to revise the online profile but got nothing in return. The site also made consumers believe the content had been created by other users, not the company.
The FTC estimates that Jerk LLC, the Boston-area based parent company behind the site, and John Fanning, its operator, created profiles for more than 73 million people - including children - between 2009 and 2013.
Attempts to contact Fanning were unsuccessful, and his attorney could not be reached for comment on Monday.
The FTC is seeking an order that would bar the company from such deceptive practices, prohibit them from using improperly obtained personal information and require them to delete the information.
A hearing is scheduled to begin before an administrative law judge in January of 2015.
Facebook could not be reached immediately for comment on the site. - Sapa-AP