Facebook parent Meta to Pay 725 Million for Cambridge Analytica Scandal
2022.12.23 11:19
Facebook parent Meta to Pay 725 Million for Cambridge Analytica Scandal
Budrigannews.com – Meta Platforms Inc. (META.O), which owns Facebook, has agreed to pay $725 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that says the social media giant let Cambridge Analytica and other third parties access user information.
The proposed settlement, which was uncovered in a court recording late on Thursday, would determine a long-running claim provoked by disclosures in 2018 that Facebook had permitted the English political counseling firm Cambridge Analytica to get to information of upwards of 87 million clients.
The plaintiffs’ attorneys described the proposed settlement as the most Meta has ever paid to settle a class action lawsuit and the largest ever achieved in a U.S. data privacy class action.
In a joint statement, Derek Loeser and Lesley Weaver, the plaintiffs’ lead attorneys, stated, “This historic settlement will provide meaningful relief to the class in this complex and novel privacy case.”
As part of the settlement, which still needs to be approved by a federal judge in San Francisco, Meta did not admit any wrongdoing. “In the best interest of our community and shareholders,” the company said in a statement.
Meta stated, “We revamped our approach to privacy over the last three years and implemented a comprehensive privacy program.”
The now-defunct Cambridge Analytica worked for Donald Trump’s successful 2016 presidential campaign and gained access to the personal information of millions of Facebook accounts for the purpose of targeting and profiling voters.
A researcher who had been permitted by Facebook to deploy an app on its social media network that harvested data from millions of its users provided Cambridge Analytica with that information without the consent of those users.
The following Cambridge Analytica embarrassment filled government examinations concerning its security practices, claims and a high-profile U.S. legislative hearing where Meta CEO Imprint Zuckerberg was barbecued by administrators.
In 2019, Facebook consented to pay $5 billion to determine a Government Exchange Commission test into its protection rehearses and $100 million to settle U.S. Protections and Trade Commission guarantees that it misdirected financial backers about the abuse of clients’ information.
The settlement reached on Thursday resolved claims by Facebook users that the company violated various federal and state laws by allowing app developers and business partners to harvest their personal data on a widespread basis without their consent. Additionally, the company is fighting a lawsuit brought by the attorney general for Washington, D.C.
The users’ lawyers claimed that Facebook allowed thousands of preferred outsiders to gain access to their personal data, despite misleading them into believing they could maintain control.
Facebook argued that information that users shared with friends on social media does not have a legitimate privacy interest. However, that viewpoint was deemed “so wrong” by U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria, who in 2019 largely permitted the case to proceed.
According to the court filing from Thursday, the settlement affects between 250 and 280 million Facebook users. The number of legitimate claims submitted for a share of the settlement will determine the amount each user receives.
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The plaintiffs’ lawyers say they will ask the judge to give them up to 25% of the settlement, or about $181 million, as attorney’s fees.
