Facebook Users Have Until August to Claim Their Share of $725 Million Settlement

Facebook users in the US who had an active account between May 2007 and December 2022 now have the opportunity to claim their share of a $725 million settlement related to the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The legal battle began four years ago after it was revealed that as many as 87 million Facebook users had their private information obtained by Cambridge Analytica, a data analytics firm that worked with the Trump campaign.

 

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg was forced to testify before Congress and issued apologies for the mishandling of user data. Since then, the social media giant has made changes to its privacy practices, including restricting third-party access to user data and improving communication with users about how their data is collected and shared.

 

In December 2021, Facebook rebranded itself as Meta and agreed to pay the settlement to settle the class action lawsuit alleging privacy violations. Meta did not admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement.

 

The claim form to apply for a cash payment requires a few personal details and information about a user's Facebook account and can be filled out online or printed and submitted by mail. The settlement fund will be distributed to class members who submit valid claims based on how long they had an active Facebook account during the relevant period. However, the individual settlement payments have not yet been established because they depend on how many users submit claims and how long each user maintained a Facebook account.

 

The deadline for Facebook users to submit their claim form is August 25. The settlement payments will be distributed after the court's approval, assuming there are no appeals. Facebook users can make a claim by visiting Facebookuserprivacysettlement.com and entering their name, address, email address, and confirming they lived in the U.S. and were active on Facebook between the aforementioned dates.