The group of hackers known as Anonymous has vowed to 'destroy' Facebook on November 5, the night which commemorates Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot.
The 'hacktivists', infamous for meddling with the American government and for their support for WikiLeaks, have announced that they will focus on bringing down the social networking site because of its privacy policy.
Facebook was started in 2004 and has more than 750 million users worldwide. Its 27-year-old CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, is thought to be worth £8.3 billion ($13.5 billion) according to Forbes.
And while its popularity appears to be increasing, many questions remain over privacy issues - there are fears that the information uploaded by users will be passed on to other sources
Anonymous, whose members have been known to wear Guy Fawkes hats - copying the film V for Vendetta - when they appear in public, has launched what it calls 'Operation Facebook'.
It has pledged to bring down the California-based company on November 5 - Bonfire Night - which commemorates the day in 1605 when Guy Fawkes tried to blow up Parliament.
Anonymous said that this November 5 'will go down in history. It added: 'One day you will look back on this and realise what we have done here is right, you will thank the rulers of the internet, we are not harming you but saving you.
'The riots are under way. It is not a battle over the future of privacy and publicity. It is a battle for choice and informed consent.'
Last month the group created a Twitter account and uploaded a YouTube video, called 'Message from Anonymous: Operation Facebook, Nov 5 2011', to highlight its intentions - and has urged those willing to rise up against Facebook to join it.
The chilling video, a two-minute warning and explanation using a computerised voice, begins: 'Attention citizens of the world ... Your medium of communication you all so dearly adore will be destroyed.
'If you are a willing hacktivist or a guy who just wants to protect the freedom of information then join the cause and kill Facebook for the sake of your own privacy.
'Facebook has been selling information to government agencies and giving clandestine access to information security firms so that they can spy on people from all around the world.'
The message continues: 'Everything you do on Facebook stays on Facebook regardless of your "privacy" settings, and deleting your account is impossible.
'Even if you "delete" your account, all your personal info stays on Facebook and can be recovered at any time.
'Facebook knows more about you than your family. You cannot hide from the reality in which you, the people of the internet, live in.
'People are being raped, tickled, molested, and confused into doing things where they don't understand the consequences.
Facebook keeps saying that it gives users choices, but that is completely false. It gives users the illusion of and hides the details away from them "for their own good" while they then make millions off of you.'
The video concludes: 'This is our world now. We exist without nationality, without religious bias ... We have the right to not live as slaves.
'We are anonymous. We are legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us.'
However, Eugene Kaspersky, co-founder and CEO of Kaspersky Lab and a security expert, poured scorn on the threat and used Twitter to say: 'The news around #Anonymous to attack #Facebook on Nov 5 most probably is fake.'
A comment from Facebook was not forthcoming when MailOnline contacted the press office.
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