If you’ve touched Facebook in the past 15 years or so, you may qualify for a tiny slice of the $725 million that the company must pay to settle a class action lawsuit from the Cambridge Analytics privacy scandal,
It won’t be much, and isn’t a sure thing, but you could be eligible for a cash award of more than $500. The exact amount depends how many people apply.
Key Takeaways
- You have until Aug. 25 to file a claim in the $725 million class action privacy lawsuit against Facebook.
- Your award could range between a few dollars and more than $500, depending on how many of 87 million eligible claimants file.
- You most likely won’t see any money until the end of the year.
Here’s how the math works. From the total settlement with Facebook parent Meta, subtract 25% for lawyers’ fees and $15,000 each for the eight named plaintiffs. That leaves $545 million to be divided evenly among all qualified claimants who file by the Aug. 25 deadline.
If about 1% of those eligible file claims, about 1 million people, each would be entitled to about $545. That figure drops to just $70 if 9%—the median rate in a 2019 FTC study—were to file. But don’t give up hope on that $545 figure. A study cited by Duke University Law School showed that such claims rates are usually under 10 percent, they are “frequently less than 1 percent.”
Am I eligible?
If you’re among an estimated 87 million current and former Facebook users who were active on Facebook between May 24, 2007, and Dec. 22, 2022, you’re eligible. You don’t have to receive a notice, as long as Facebook has your contact information.
When can I file a claim?
You can file a claim until the August deadline. Unless you opt out of the settlement by July 25, you won’t have the right to sue Facebook on your own.
How do I file?
Go to facebookuserprivacysettlement.com and fill out a claim form. You can mail the form or complete it online. You’ll need to confirm your current or former FB account with your email address, phone number, username, or user ID. You ‘ll also be asked to share payment information so that you can receive your award.
When will I get paid?
Not soon. According to the settlement, the final hearing won’t happen until September. There could be delays (legal and otherwise), and in any case, payments aren’t likely until the end of the year.
Source: https://www.investopedia.com/you-still-have-time-to-wrest-usd725m-from-facebook-7483592?utm_campaign=quote-yahoo&utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=referral&yptr=yahoo