Chinese-based mobile app developer Cheetah Mobile, Inc. has asked a federal court in New York to dismiss a purposed class action lawsuit brought by the company’s investors. Cheetah boasts hundreds of millions of monthly active users of its apps, including Clean Master, Cheetah Keyboard, Piano Tiles 2 and Live Me.

Named plaintiff Adrian Marcu alleges that, based on a Buzzfeed article, between April 2017 and November 2018, “certain Cheetah apps then available in the Google Play store were exploiting user permissions as part of an ad fraud scheme.” The alleged conduct is a form of ‘click spamming’ whereby the app improperly claims other app installations as their own clicks. Marcu further alleges that based on this conduct, Cheetah made false or misleading statements in its filings with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

In a recent motion to dismiss the complaint, Cheetah argued that the complaint fails to indicate who engaged in the alleged conduct, but rather the allegations are “vague” and “unelaborated.” The company also denied engaging in any SEC violation. The motion remains pending before the court.

The complaint is available here.  Contact us at Ossian Law P. C. regarding any information technology law matter.

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