Facebook has denied the allegations but has agreed to pay $725 million to settle the lawsuit.
New Delhi:
Facebook’s parent company Meta has agreed to pay a total of $725 million to settle a lawsuit against its users. The tech giant has been accused of sharing users’ data without their consent. Now, users can claim a portion of the settlement amount if certain conditions are met, reported fast company magazine.
Several lawsuits were filed against Facebook alleging that the company shared the data of users and their friends without asking their permission. The lawsuits also claim that Facebook did not adequately monitor third parties who were granted access to users’ data.
The lawsuits were later consolidated into a class-action lawsuit against Facebook. While the tech giant has denied the allegations, it has agreed to pay $725 million to settle the lawsuit.
Who is eligible to claim the settlement?
Eligible people can claim the settlement amount if they used Facebook between May 24, 2007, and December 22. Such users need to claim by August 25, 2023 and fill the online claim form. But only those in the US are entitled to the settlement amount or for users who were residing in the US between May 24, 2007 and December 22, 2022.
Users who currently do not have a Facebook account but used the platform between the mentioned dates can claim the amount. The claim form requires users to provide their personal details such as name, address, phone number, country and email address. One also needs to choose the payment method through which the amount will be transferred. In April 2018, Facebook said that the personal data of 87 million of its users had been improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica, a British political consultancy.
“In total, we believe that the Facebook information of up to 87 million people — mostly in the US — may have been improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica,” said Facebook’s then-chief technology officer. mike schroepfer Said.