The deadline to file a claim in the $725 million class action settlement against Facebook parent company Meta is this week.
Facebook users who had an active account between May 24, 2007, and Dec. 22, 2022, have until Friday to file a claim and possibly receive a part of the settlement. The final approval hearing for the settlement is Sept. 7.
Any user who wishes to file a claim must go to the settlement’s website and fill out the form.
The settlement, which stems from a lawsuit that claimed Facebook gave user information to third parties without their knowledge, is one of the biggest in the company’s history and will deliver payments to thousands of users.
The amount paid out to individual claimants is determined by how long the user has had a Facebook account and how many people file claims. Each claimant will be assigned a point for each month he or she had an activated Facebook account within the 2007-22 window. Once all the points have been added together, and the total settlement amount has been calculated, each person will receive a portion of the settlement.
The settlement is not the first time Facebook has had to pay out for violating user privacy. Last year, the company settled a $650 million lawsuit in Illinois for storing user facial scans without users’ knowledge. The class action settlement saw the company shell out payments to millions of people.
• Vaughn Cockayne can be reached at vcockayne@washingtontimes.com.
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