Hello, readers! It’s Julia Reynolds again, bringing you the latest news on a trending story that could affect you if you’re a Facebook user. According to recent reports, Facebook has agreed to pay a whopping $725 million in a class-action lawsuit settlement over the Cambridge Analytica data breach. If you’re a Facebook user and you had an active account between May 2007 and December 2022, you could be eligible for a piece of the settlement.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the story, Cambridge Analytica was a British political consulting firm that used Facebook data to influence voters during the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Facebook admitted in 2018 that the personal data of 87 million users was improperly shared with the firm. This led to widespread concerns over privacy violations and the way in which Facebook handles user data.
Individual settlement payments haven’t yet been established, as they depend on how many users submit claims and how long each user maintained a Facebook account. However, Facebook users have until August 25th to enter a claim on the settlement website, Facebookuserprivacysettlement.com. To make a claim, users will need to enter their name, address, and email address, and confirm they lived in the U.S. and were active on Facebook between the aforementioned dates.
This settlement is part of the years-long litigation over Facebook’s relationship with Cambridge Analytica, which caused quite a stir in the political and tech worlds. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was forced to testify before Congress and take out full-page ads where he apologized for the missteps. The settlement and subsequent rebranding of Facebook to Meta in 2021 may be an attempt to move past the scandal and restore user trust.
It’s important to note that Meta did not admit any wrongdoing in the settlement but pursued it in the best interest of the community and shareholders. A spokesperson for Meta declined to comment further on the matter.
So, if you’re a Facebook user who had an active account during the specified time frame, don’t miss out on your chance to claim your share of the settlement. Remember, you have until August 25, 2023, to submit a claim.
