Courser, the social media platform that launched in the US and Australia in 2017, has been hit with a $1.1 billion lawsuit filed by one of its most valuable investors, Mastercard.
Courser is the most popular of a new wave of social media platforms in which companies like Facebook and Twitter are vying for users with lucrative advertising budgets.
The lawsuit claims Courser made millions of dollars from advertising on its platform through its “Courser MasterCard” service, which offers merchants and consumers a way to buy and sell goods.
Courseer has been a key player in the social marketing landscape for decades, building a huge following through a series of online courses.
It is also a leader in online marketing, as its “Mastercard Learn” and “MasterCard Courser” courses have become the de facto standard for social media marketing.
But Courser had trouble maintaining its user base after it was acquired by Mastercard in 2017.
By the end of the year, it had nearly 2.4 million active users, a decline of more than 50% from its peak in October.
Courses are typically paid with Mastercard gift cards, which have been declining in value.
According to the lawsuit, Courser lost $600 million in revenue in 2017 alone.
The suit alleges that Courser violated the Mastercard Consumer Privacy Act and the FTC Act, which prohibit “any person, firm, or corporation from disclosing personally identifiable information to a third party,” without consent.
The complaint also alleges that in March 2018, Courseers payment processors made payments to its users without their consent.
Coursers “Master Card Mastercard” payment processor allegedly violated the FTC and FTC Act by using the same name and badge that Coursers website had used since it launched in 2019, according to the complaint.
Coursure is now part of an industrywide lawsuit against Mastercard, accusing it of violating the FTC’s Privacy Act by requiring users to sign up for Courser.
“Courses are designed to encourage and enable people to connect with people in their local community.
Coursing is a vital way for people to do that, and that’s why we think that Courses is so important to the world of social marketing,” said Michael Ruhl, executive vice president of corporate communications at Courser and one of the lawyers representing the plaintiff in the lawsuit.
Courers revenue has declined in recent years, from about $7 billion in 2017 to $4.5 billion in 2018, according the lawsuit filed in the Southern District of New York.
Coursellers revenue is expected to continue to fall in the coming months, according as the lawsuit seeks to recover fees and other expenses.
The court filing says Courser’s CEO, Josh Cogburn, has resigned.