Class members oppose Meta’s $725M Cambridge Analytica data-harvesting settlement

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Update: 

• Meta Platforms faces new objections over its $725 million settlement intended to resolve claims against Facebook relating to the Cambridge Analytica data scandal. 
• On July 26, two class members filed objections to the proposed settlement deal, arguing Facebook users with more “friends” were more likely to have had their personal information exposed than those with fewer “friends.” 
• The class members, Stewart Harris and Ryan Cino, argue it is therefore unfair that users with fewer friends are compensated the same amount as those with more friends, who took on more risk, the objection states. The pair seek amendments to the final agreement.
• U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria gave his blessing to the deal March 29. It creates a settlement fund of $725 million to compensate eligible members of a settlement class that includes all Facebook users in the United States between May 2007 and December 2022 — an estimated 250 million to 280 million people.
• The lawsuit pertains to Facebook’s involvement in the Cambridge Analytica data-harvesting scandal in which Facebook is accused of sharing the private data of its users with third parties without their knowledge and without obtaining consent to influence voter behavior.

Meta data harvesting class action settlement overview: 

• Who: Meta Platforms agreed to pay $725 million to resolve claims brought against it by a group of current and former Facebook users. 
• Why: The settlement ends claims revolving around Facebook’s alleged failure to prevent Cambridge Analytica and other third parties from accessing Facebook users’ private data without their consent. 
• Where: The Meta settlement agreement would benefit Facebook users nationwide. 

(Dec. 27, 2022)

Meta Platforms agreed to pay a record $725 million to resolve claims related to its alleged involvement in the Cambridge Analytica data harvesting scandal. 

The funds from the settlement agreement will go toward compensating millions of Facebook users affected by the Cambridge Analytica data harvesting scandal, according to the Meta settlement. 

The settlement ends multidistrict litigation first brought against Facebook in 2018 by a group of current and former Facebook users who claimed the company failed to prevent Cambridge Analytica and other third parties from accessing their private data.

The current and former Facebook users reportedly argued they did not consent to having third parties access their private data and that Facebook’s alleged inaction violated the Stored Communications Act and the Video Privacy Protection Act. 

Facebook users previously reached settlement in principle 

News of the settlement agreement first came to light in August when Facebook users told a federal judge in California that they had come to an agreement in principle with Meta Platforms. 

If approved, the $725 million would go into a non-reversionary settlement fund that counsel for the Facebook users estimates could compensate between 250 million and 280 million users of the social media platform since its launch in 2007. 

“To Plaintiffs’ knowledge, this is the largest amount recovered by users in any U.S. data-privacy class action, including data-breach class actions, which often involve some measure of out-of-pocket economic harm,” the Facebook users’ notice of motion states. 

In other Meta news, earlier this year, a young Facebook user filed a class action lawsuit against Meta, arguing the company sacrificed children’s mental health through its pursuit of increasing revenue. 

What do you think of the Meta settlement? Let us know in the comments! 

The Meta data harvesting class action lawsuit 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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