Fama Technologies, Inc. has announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has allowed all 22 claims in its patent application for the foundational technology behind social media background screening. Titled "System for Searching and Correlating Online Activity with Individual Classification Factors," the patent carries a priority date of November 30, 2015. This legal milestone establishes Fama as the original inventor of the core processes used to analyze digital footprints for modern hiring and risk management.
Patent Validation: All 22 claims were allowed by the USPTO, covering the entire online screening pipeline.
Technological Scope: The patent includes PII extraction, image-to-structured-data transformation, and machine learning classification.
Invention Priority: A 2015 priority date cements Fama’s position as the creator of the social media screening category.
Compliance Integration: Fama’s IP is bolstered by the 2023 acquisition of Social Intelligence, an early pioneer in FTC compliance.
Portfolio Expansion: The company has filed a continuation patent application to further expand its intellectual property claims.
Modern Capabilities: Current features have evolved to include video analysis, multilingual screening, and ongoing monitoring.
The allowed patent encompasses the sophisticated technology pipeline that Fama has developed over the last decade. This includes the ability to retrieve online activity from various platforms and utilize object recognition to turn unstructured image data into structured datasets. The system further employs machine learning algorithms to classify content based on workplace-relevant risk signals, presenting these insights through an interactive reporting interface designed for enterprise efficiency.
This patent serves as a validation of Fama's long-term investment in proprietary technology. By securing this IP, the company distinguishes its AI-native platform from other market entrants, emphasizing a foundation built on technical innovation rather than just service-based screening.
"We've been building this technology since 2015, long before social media screening was recognized as an essential part of the hiring process," said Ben Mones, Founder and CEO of Fama Technologies. "This patent validates what our customers and partners already know: Fama didn't just enter the online screening market, we created it. The core technology that powers the category was invented here."
The maturation of the online screening market has made intellectual property a critical differentiator for global organizations. Fama’s leadership is further strengthened by its 2023 acquisition of Social Intelligence, which helped establish the initial legal and compliance framework with the FTC in 2011. This merger of proprietary technological IP and gold-standard compliance provides a unique solution for the digitally connected workforce.
Mones highlighted the importance of this milestone for the company’s future. "As the online screening market matures, intellectual property becomes increasingly important. For customers and partners, this patent reinforces that the technology powering Fama is proprietary, built for long term reliability and developed on a foundation of genuine innovation," Mones added.
With more than $30 million in backing and a platform compliant with FCRA, GDPR, and modern AI privacy frameworks, Fama continues to expand its feature set. The company is now focused on identifying web content profiles and evolving its monitoring capabilities to match the changing landscape of online behavior and workforce risk.
About Fama Technologies
Fama is a talent screening solution that helps employers identify candidate or employee behaviors that create risk for their organizations. For today's digitally connected workforce, risks often appear online first. Fama's AI-native platform analyzes text, images, and video across a person's social media & online presence to surface workplace-relevant behavior risk signals. Our solution is compliant with the FCRA, GDPR & AI privacy frameworks and can be configured to match each company's code of conduct. Founded in 2015, Fama is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. We're backed by some of the world's leading investors, and have raised more than $30M.
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