Say “free Facebook Meta money” three times fast.
Why? If you’ve used Facebook in the past 16 years, you could be entitled to some surprise cash from the social media platform’s parent company thanks to a class action lawsuit over data privacy concerns.
Facebook has been under fire for allegedly sharing users’ personal information with third parties (including Cambridge Analytics) without permission, according to a class action lawsuit that was first filed in 2018, per NPR. Although Meta denied the allegations, it agreed to settle the suit in December 2022 and pay $725 million, according to the lawsuit.
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But while the settlement is still waiting for final approval from a judge, per the Los Angeles Times, a tentatively approved agreement has allowed U.S. users to start filing claims now to get in line for their possible compensation.
According to the agreement, 25% of the compensation funds would go to legal fees and other expenses, which leaves $544 million for those who file a claim.
To be eligible for the compensation fund, you must have used Facebook between May 24, 2007, and Dec. 22, 2022. A claim can be filed at facebookuserprivacysettlement.com or by downloading the form and mailing it to Facebook Consumer Privacy User Profile Litigation, c/o Settlement Administrator in Philadelphia, PA. Users must input their Facebook username, an email address or phone number associated with the account, and their choice of payment option (a prepaid MasterCard, PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, or check).
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Online claims must be submitted by August 25, 2023. Payments won’t begin dispersing until after the final approval hearing, which is scheduled for September 7.