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Meta (formerly Facebook) may owe people who used the social media site between 2007 and 2022 due to a privacy breach. Mashable,
The social media giant has reached a settlement in a class-action lawsuit where it admitted no fault in the claims against the company but agreed to pay $725 million in damages. The money is available to anyone who submits a claim by the appropriate deadline of August 25, 2023. If you are (or were) a Facebook user, here’s how to determine whether you’re eligible and how to get your share of the settlement.
How to know whether you are eligible or not
There are a number of conditions you must keep in mind, including that the $725 million prize will be truncated after Meta pays its legal and administrative fees. There are also eligibility, filing and opt-out dates you’ll want to note.
To be eligible for a claim, you must be a Facebook user between the dates May 24, 2007 and December 22, 2022. It’s that simple, and yes, that probably includes you and almost everyone you know.
how to file a claim
To receive a financial award, you must also be submit a qualified claim Aug 25, 2023 at 11:59 pm PT. If you wish to opt out at this time, which gives you the opportunity to legally continue your defense or to do so in the future, you must submit your opt-out claim by July 26, 2023. If you object to the Settlement, you may attend a hearing on July 26, 2023, or by the same deadline in writing.
You can’t do anything either. Taking no action means that you will not receive any financial rewards and no further legal action can be taken against Meta in similar cases.
Until we know how many people have submitted claims for compensation, there will be no specific details on how much money claimants will be entitled to. Those interested in learning more information and filing a claim can FacebookUserPrivacySettlement.com, Those submitting claims should also add the [email protected] email to their contact list to ensure they are being updated in a timely manner.
A final acceptance hearing will take place on September 7th, 2023 at 1PM PT, prior to which claimants will receive their financial awards.
Apple went through a similar test in January, ordering it to pay $50 million to owners of MacBook laptops sold between 2015 and 2019 that had the infamously faulty butterfly keyboards.
This particular lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California as a composite juncture of claims over the years. It detailed how Meta’s social media arm, Facebook, not only exposed users’ data to third parties, but also their friend’s data. The lawsuit said Facebook had no rules or privacy protections for how third parties should interact with its user’s data.
As Mashable noted, Meta is facing multiple lawsuits alleging that the company has allowed third parties to have free reign over user data without their permission over a large portion of the brand’s existence.
As a prime example Mashable highlighted, Facebook allowed data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica unbridled access to user data. The firm is no longer in business, but previously worked with Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
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