Facebook has agreed to pay $725 million in a settlement to resolve a lawsuit alleging privacy violations by its parent company, Meta. Users of the social network in the United States who had an active account at any point between May 2007 and December 2022 are eligible to claim some free money by filling out a form that asks for their current email address, as well as the email used with the Facebook account (CBS News, The New York Times). However, users need to act quickly as they have until August to apply for a payout.
The proposed settlement has been tentatively approved by a judge, and if finalized, will allow anyone in the U.S. who used Facebook in the last 16 years to collect a piece of the settlement money (The Hill). According to sources, the settlement is the largest ever by a U.S. tech company in a privacy lawsuit (NBC News).
It is worth noting that news of the settlement comes after a lengthy legal battle that began in 2015 when a lawsuit alleged that Facebook’s facial recognition technology violated Illinois law by collecting and storing biometric data without user consent (NBC Chicago). The settlement will resolve lawsuits filed in multiple states against Facebook and its subsidiaries, stemming from similar allegations of privacy violations.
Despite the settlement, Facebook and Meta continue to face criticism regarding their practices related to user privacy. In fact, the settlement comes amid growing concerns about the social network’s handling of user data and its impact on mental health, prompting some users to delete their accounts altogether (The Washington Post).
Overall, the Facebook settlement sends a clear message that tech companies need to be aware of their user’s privacy concerns and take meaningful steps to address them. It remains to be seen whether this landmark settlement will prompt Facebook and other tech companies to implement stronger privacy policies, or if they will continue to operate business as usual.
