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Update:
- Objectors to a $90 million settlement agreement claiming Facebook unlawfully tracked users say the settlement amount should be much higher: more than $1 trillion.
- The $90 million figure came from an expert report that was not made part of the record. The report computed a 10% recovery estimate of a $900 million estimate, Law360 writes.
- Attorney John J. Pentz, representing two objectors, claimed the estimate should be $1.24 trillion in damages before the 10% recovery estimate.
- Circuit Court Judge Ryan D. Nelson says damages that high would bankrupt Meta Platforms and violate the company’s due process, according to Law360.
Facebook user tracking class action settlement overview:
- Who: Facebook has reached a $90 million settlement to resolve decade-old claims.
- Why: Facebook users allege the company unlawfully tracked their browsing history while they were logged out of the social networking platform
- Where: The class action lawsuit was filed in California federal court.
(Feb. 16, 2022)
Facebook has agreed to pay $90 million to resolve decade-old claims it unlawfully tracked its users’ internet browsing activity even after they logged out of the social networking platform, an alleged violation of their privacy.
The settlement agreement will also require Facebook to delete certain “wrongfully collected” data, according to a notice of motion filed in California federal court.
A nationwide class of Facebook users aim to benefit from the proposed settlement, which will provide both injunctive and monetary relief to users who had active accounts between Apr. 22, 2010, and Sept. 26, 2011, and who Facebook tracked while they were logged out.
The proposed settlement comes after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the complaints previous revival by the 9th Circuit.
Facebook had argued allowing the complaint would allow internet companies to be targeted for conducting “routine business activity,” Law360 reports.
Facebook required to delete wrongfully collected data in proposed settlement
Per the proposed settlement, Facebook will be required to create a fully non-reversionary settlement fund that will distribute the $90 million evenly among class members.
Facebook will also be required to “sequester and delete” data that has been determined to have been “wrongfully collected” from its users during the class period.
The dispute goes back to February 2012 when 21 class action lawsuits with related user tracking claims were filed against Facebook in a number of states before later being consolidated in California federal court.
Account holders at one point had been hoping to get more than $15 billion in damages from Facebook, Law360 reports.
The consolidated class action lawsuit was trimmed twice before being dismissed for good in November 2017, then was partially brought back to life by the 9th Circuit in April 2020.
The 9th Circuit determined that Facebook users had asserted concrete privacy harms needed for Article III standing and sufficiently alleged the social networking company’s tracking and collection practices were in violation of the Wiretap Act and California Invasion of Privacy Act, Law360 reports.
Facebook, now operating under the umbrella of its parent company Meta Platforms Inc., agreed to a separate settlement earlier this month meant to resolve an online advertisers’ claims that it misrepresented its targeted advertising system.
Have you had your browsing history tracked by Facebook after you logged out of the social networking platform? Let us know in the comments.
The plaintiffs are represented by David A. Straite and Amy E. Keller of DiCello Levitt Gutzler LLC, Stephen G. Grygiel of Grygiel Law LLC and Jason “Jay” Barnes of Simmons Hanly Conroy LLC.
The Facebook user tracking class action settlement is In re: Facebook Internet Tracking Litigation, Case No. 5:12-md-02314, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
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2,601 thoughts on9th Circuit hears objections to $90M Facebook privacy settlement
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So there are 2 lawsuits together the $90 million settlement and the $730 million does that mean 2 separate checks?
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**IM ON THIS LAWSUIT, BUT HAV NOT HERD OR RECEVED ANY UPDATEDS!!** PLS, CONTACT ME. AL