Tens of millions of users that have visited Facebook in the U.S. over the past 16 years may be eligible to submit a claim for payment from the social media giant over Cambridge Analytica data privacy violation.
The Washington Post reports that as part of a $725 million class-action settlement struck in a lawsuit alleging that social media giant Facebook shared users’ data without their knowledge, tens of millions of current and past users in the United States are now qualified to lodge a claim for compensation.
A settlement website has been set up to help Americans determine if they are eligible for a payout from Mark Zuckerberg and the Masters of the Universe. The page helps users determine their rights and submit a claim.
The number of eligible claimants includes everyone who used the platform between May 24, 2007, and December 22, 2022, and was a resident of the United States. While the precise sum that users will get is yet unknown, it will rely on a variety of elements, such as legal and administrative costs, the number of claims that Meta receives, and the length of time that a certain user spent on Facebook during the class period.
According to the settlement papers, each of the eight listed plaintiffs might receive up to $15,000, and a maximum of 25 percent of the $725 million fund could potentially be used to cover legal costs. The remaining amount will be distributed across conceivably millions of consumers.
The 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal, which revealed that the data-mining company had obtained personal information from up to 87 million Facebook users through a personality quiz app, launched the case. Concerns about Facebook’s data privacy practices were addressed more broadly as the case expanded to include other incidents of user data breaches. Plaintiffs claimed that the corporation failed to control how user material and information was used and gave third parties access to it without getting user permission.
In December, Keller Rohrback, one of the plaintiffs’ law firms, stated that the agreement was “the largest settlement ever of a privacy class action in the United States.” Meta said that the settlement was “in the best interest of our community and shareholders,” and that the company has “revamped our approach to privacy.”
Following a dispute about the improper use of users’ biometric data, Facebook paid $650 million to resolve it in court in 2021. Facebook has taken strides in recent years to regulate privacy on its site, giving users more choice over who can view their posts and what advertisements they see. A $12 monthly membership service that just went live in the U.S. also promised users more protection.
Read more at The Washington Post here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan
