Anyone in the U.S. who used Facebook in the last 16 years can now collect a piece of a $725 million settlement by parent company Meta tied to privacy violations, as long as they fill out a claim within the next two weeks.
The settlement stems from multiple lawsuits that were brought against Facebook by users who claimed that the company improperly shared their information with third-party sources such as advertisers and data brokers. The litigation began after Facebook was embroiled in a privacy scandal in 2018 with Cambridge Analytica, which scraped user data from the site as part of an effort to profile voters.
Meta denied any liability or wrongdoing under the settlement, according to the recently created class-action website, set up to pay out money to the social network's users.
However, the agreement means that U.S. residents who used Facebook between May 24, 2007, and December 22, 2022, can file a monetary claim as long as they do so before Friday, August 25 of this year.
Go to the claim website to fill out your claim, or else print out the claim and mail it to this address: Facebook Consumer Privacy User Profile Litigation, c/o Settlement Administrator, 1650 Arch Street, Suite 2210, Philadelphia, PA 19103.
The claim asks for basic information:
It should take only a few minutes.
You can find it on Facebook's website by going to "Account" and then clicking on "Settings and Privacy." From there, click on "Settings," where you should see "Username."
On the mobile app, go to the menu and then click on your display name on top of the screen. Then select the "..." next to "Edit Profile" and your user name appears under "Your Profile Link."
The claim administrator says that if you created but deleted one or more Facebook accounts, and then later created a new Facebook account, you can claim for the full amount of time you had an activated Facebook account during that time.
However, if you had multiple accounts at the same time, you can't get a claim for those extra accounts. In other words, no double-counting, according to the claim administrator.
Yes, but it takes a few extra steps.
First, file the claim under the name of the deceased person and fill out their details in the "Your Facebook Account" section of the claim form.
Next, you'll have to provide the claim settlement administrator with a request to change the name to the beneficiary or the estate of the claimant. To do that, you'll have to provide documentation showing the reason for the name change, such as a copy of the death certificate. Send an email to the administrator through its secure portal with the explanation and the documents that demonstrate the need for the change.
The secure portal will allow you to send an email to [email protected]. Use the subject line: "Name Change – Facebook User Privacy Settlement" and include the claim ID from the claim confirmation, as well as the full name of the deceased person. The site will also ask you to register with your email and password.
You can also mail the documentation to:
Facebook User Privacy Settlement
Attn: Name Change
1650 Arch Street, Suite 2210
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Yes, according to Meta.
"We pursued a settlement as it's in the best interest of our community and shareholders," a Meta spokesperson told CBS MoneyWatch. "We are notifying people through their Facebook notifications about this settlement so they can decide whether to participate."
That's unclear, because the settlement amount per user will depend on how many people fill out a claim, according to the settlement website.
However, the lawyers involved in the case are likely to take a portion of the settlement as part of their fees. The claim website notes that they could be awarded up to 25% of the settlement — or $181.3 million. If they receive that much, the settlement will be reduced to $543.7 million for the Facebook users who ask for part of the claim.
Each claimant will get one point for each month when they had an "activated" Facebook account between May 24, 2007, and December 22, 2022. The settlement administrator will add up all the points assigned to all claimants and then divide the net settlement amount by that number.
Each claimant will receive that per point amount multiplied by the number of points they were assigned, meaning that people who have been on Facebook for shorter periods of time would likely get a lower settlement amount.
Not until later this year at the earliest.
The claims site notes that there is a final approval hearing for the settlement on September 7, when the court will decide whether to approve the deal and award attorneys' fees and other costs. If the settlement is approved, the case could still face appeals, which would take an unknown amount of time to be resolved, the website notes.
"Settlement payments will be distributed as soon as possible if the court grants final approval of the settlement and after any appeals are resolved," it notes.
Yes, Facebook users were able to opt out of the settlement, but that deadline passed on July 26. One possible reason for doing so was if you wanted to keep your right to separately sue the company about the issues and allegations in the case, according to the settlement website.
The deadline for filing an objection to the Facebook settlement has also passed, with that deadline occurring on July 26.
Facebook users were able to send the court reasons why the settlement shouldn't be approved, but they couldn't ask it to order a different remedy, according to the settlement website. The court can only either approve or reject the settlement — and if the latter happens, no payments will be sent out and the lawsuit will continue.
If you neither file a claim nor opt out of the settlement, you give up your right to file a lawsuit, continue a suit or be part of any other litigation against Facebook about the legal issues involved in the case. You also won't get to collect any of the settlement money, according to the site.
Aside from those who opt out of the settlement, people who work for Meta, affiliated companies or subsidiaries as well as the attorneys for the plaintiff and their employees can't join the settlement. The special master, mediators and judges involved in the case can't participate either.
The settlement also doesn't cover users outside the U.S. or people who weren't Facebook users at any time between May 24, 2007, and December 22, 2022.
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