Justices give narrow win to Internet site in false data case

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court on Monday handed a narrow victory to an Internet search firm sued for posting false information about people, ruling consumers could bring legal challenges only if the errors caused actual harm.

The 6-2 ruling threw out an appeals court decision in favor of Thomas Robins, a Virginia resident who sued Spokeo.com after it posted an online profile about him that was riddled with errors about his age, education, employment and marital status.

However, the high court sent the case back for further proceedings, giving Robins another chance to show exactly how he might have been harmed.

The case was closely watched by Facebook, Twitter and other technology firms seeking to avoid costly litigation over the use of inaccurate data. They were concerned about lawsuits that could expose them to billions of dollars of damages for even trivial violations of statutes protecting consumer privacy rights.

Consumer rights advocates had sought a broader ruling that would let people sue without showing a real injury.

In the end, the court's decision gave both sides something to like.

Spokeo's website offers a searchable database that lets subscribers look up personal information about people. The profile at issue incorrectly stated Robins' age, that he had a graduate degree, was employed, wealthy and married with children. In fact, Robins was single, unemployed and looking for work. His economic status was far lower than described.

He claimed the false information damaged his job prospects. 

Spokeo argued being falsely portrayed was not enough to show Robins was really harmed.