Meta misses deadline to fund $725M Facebook settlement, must pay interest

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Update:

• Meta agreed to pay interest on a $725 million settlement agreement with Facebook users over the Cambridge Analytica data-harvesting scandal after missing a deadline to fund it. 
• Meta had a deadline of Oct. 31 to fund an escrow account for the settlement under an agreement with more than 200 million Facebook users; a California federal judge gave the settlement final approval last month. 
• In status reports filed Nov. 3, the plaintiffs say Meta “funded the principal in the escrow accounts” and paid the interest payments, resolving the issue. 
• The total interest lost for the three days Meta was late funding the escrow account came to $319,600.65, according to counsel for the plaintiffs. 

Facebook Cambridge Analytica data harvesting class action settlement overview: 

• Who: A group of Facebook users have reached an agreement in principle with Meta Platforms. 
• Why: The settlement agreement would resolve an MDL revolving around Meta’s alleged involvement in the Cambridge Analytica data harvesting scandal. 
• Where: The MDL is in California federal court. 

(Aug. 30, 2022)

A group of Facebook users have told a federal judge in California that they have an agreement in principle with Meta Platforms that will resolve multi district litigation revolving around the company’s involvement in the Cambridge Analytica data harvesting scandal. 

The Facebook users, along with Meta, asked the federal judge to put litigation on hold for sixty days while they work to finalize the settlement and prepare for a formal request for preliminary approval, according to a notice of settlement. 

The Cambridge Analytica data harvesting scandal revolved around the company allegedly influencing the 2016 U.S. presidential election by gaining unauthorized access to more than 70 million Facebook profiles belonging to U.S. users.

The judge overseeing the MDL agreed on Friday to put litigation on hold while the users and Meta work to finalize terms of the settlement, reports Law360. 

Meta accused of failing to prevent third parties from accessing Facebook users’ private data 

A group of current and former Facebook users have claimed that Meta failed to prevent third parties from obtaining access to private data on their account, which they argue led to it being misused. 

Further, the group accused Meta of violating the Stored Communications Act and the Video Privacy Protection Act by allegedly failing to prevent their private data from falling into the hands of third parties, Law360 reports. 

In May, the Facebook users requested Meta be required to turn over any documents related to its internal investigation of the Cambridge Analytica data harvesting scandal — in order to bolster their complaint. 

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, meanwhile, was struck with a consumer protection lawsuit in May by District of Columbia Attorney General Karl A. Racine, who argued that  the company’s allegedly relaxed data protection procedures were to blame for the Cambridge Analytica breach. 

Was your Facebook profile affected by the Cambridge Analytica data harvesting scandal? Let us know in the comments!

The plaintiffs are represented by  Derek W. Loeser, Cari C. Laufenberg, David Ko, Adele A. Daniel, Benjamin Gould, Emma M. Wright, Christopher Springer and Eric Fierro of Keller Rohrback LLP, and Lesley E. Weaver, Anne K. Davis, Matthew S. Melamed, Angelica M. Ornelas, and Joshua D. Samra of Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP.

The Facebook Cambridge Analytica data harvesting class action settlement is In re: Facebook Inc. Consumer Privacy User Profile Litigation, Case No. 3:18-md-02843, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

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