Tech

Here’s How You Can Get In On Facebook’s $725 Million Class Action Settlement

A new website allows anyone who had a Facebook account between May 2007 and December 2022 to file a claim against the company—and potentially get paid.
the Facebook logo in a magnifying glass
Image Credit: Getty Images

If you have used Facebook in the last 16 years, you may be entitled to financial compensation. 

A new website is allowing Facebook users to claim their share of a $725 million settlement for a class action lawsuit against Facebook, or Meta. The lawsuit came in response to Meta revealing in 2018 that the data and personal information of around 87 million people was improperly accessed by the data consultation firm Cambridge Analytica—which was used by the Trump campaign. The litigation has been ongoing since 2018, and ended in December of last year with the settlement agreement. Meta denies that it violated any law. 

“A Settlement has been reached between Defendant Facebook, Inc., now known as Meta Platforms, Inc., (“Meta” or “Defendant”) and Plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California,” the website reads. “You are included in this Settlement as a Settlement Class Member if you were a Facebook user in the United States between May 24, 2007, and December 22, 2022, inclusive.”

Eligible users have until August 25 to file a claim. The final approval hearing for the settlement is scheduled for September. Users can also opt-out of the settlement by July 26, if they want to continue to sue Meta regarding the class-action. 

The website explains that “numerous lawsuits were brought on behalf of Facebook users” who allege that Facebook/Meta shared “user data and data about users’ friends without permission of the users whose data was shared, and did not sufficiently monitor and enforce third-party access or use of that data. Meta expressly denies any liability or wrongdoing.” 

There isn’t a set amount that users can be paid, the website states. Rather, the payment “depends on how many Settlement Class Members submit valid claims and how long you were a user on Facebook during the Class Period.” The amount a person gets will be the total settlement of $725 million, minus any administrative costs or service awards, and then divided by however many people file claims and for how long.