Facebook has filed a lawsuit against OneAudience, a mobile audience intelligence platform, alleging that it has stolen Facebook users’ personal information, according to a report in Engadget .

According to Facebook, OneAudience paid third-party developers to install a malicious software development kit (SDK) in its app that can collect users’ information without their knowledge.

The lawsuit has been filed three months after social media sites, including Facebook and Twitter, traced activities of third-party developers intended at obtaining the email, username, and last post of users. Facebook alleged another SDK developer -- Mobiburn -- had also stolen user information. Facebook had earlier notified its 9.5-billion user base that their data had potentially been compromised, the Engadget report added.

In the aftermath of the exposé, Facebook said it has sent OneAudience a cease-and-desist letter and asked it to take part in the investigation. However, the company declined to cooperate with Facebook, Engadget reported.

The lawsuit is the message to people who try to exploit Facebook and try to retrieve information from its app. Facebook said it is serious about enforcing its community guidelines that include the cooperation of developers during an investigation. Facebook added that it won’t let developers misuse data and compromise the privacy of its users.

Facebook has maintained a strict stance against violations of user privacy. It also opposed India’s data protection bill that asks social media sites to coordinate with the Centre and share the information of its community members if need be, The Wire reported.

Facebook has been cracking down on data abuse over the past couple of years. For instance, last year it sued a Hong Kong company for tricking people into clicking on malicious links in order to hack their accounts, Engadget reported.

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