How to claim Facebook lawsuit settlement? Amount, how to avail, and all you need to know

People who were actively using Facebook in the United States at any time from May 2007 to December 2022 can now claim their share of the $725 million class-action lawsuit, which was slapped due to privacy violations by social media.

The lawsuit was initiated in 2018 after the social media platform, which Meta owns, disclosed that the private information of 87 million of its users was unlawfully shared with Cambridge Analytica, a British political consultancy that supported Donald Trump's 2016 presidential elections.

Meta has denied the allegations. As for the claim, social media platform users active between the above-mentioned dates have until August 25, 2023, to avail of the claim.

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The individual claim money from Facebook has not been decided yet

To submit a valid claim, you can visit facebookuserprivacysettlement.com. Users may file a claim by submitting their name, address, and email address, as well as proving they stayed in the United States and were active on Facebook during the aforementioned periods.

Users can also email a completed print form downloaded from https://angeion-public.s3.amazonaws.com/ and send it to the below-mentioned address:

Facebook Consumer Privacy User Profile Litigation c/o Settlement Administrator, 1650 Arch Street, Suite 2210, Philadelphia, PA 19103

The amount of money each person receives is determined by how long they have had a Facebook account and how many legitimate claims are made in total. Class members have the option of receiving their payments via Direct Deposit, Venmo, Zelle, PayPal, or prepaid Mastercard.

On September 7, 2023, there will be a final meeting for approval. After that, the money would be given out, but there could be requests that slow down the process.

If you wish to keep the option to sue Meta independently, you must apply to opt out of the settlement by July 26, 2023.

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Facebook's CEO apologized for not taking steps to ensure privacy

The massive data breach compelled the social media platform's founder Mark Zuckerberg to go before Congress and run full-page advertisements in which he apologized for his mistakes.

"I’m sorry we didn’t do more at the time. We’re now taking steps to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”

In 2021, the social media platform was relaunched as Meta and the class-action suit was resolved the following year. However, the company did not agree with any allegations. A spokesperson at the time said:

"We pursued a settlement as it’s in the best interest of our community and shareholders.”

Meta fought the lawsuit for years, but in December 2022, the company finally agreed to pay the huge amount. This is on top of the $5 billion Meta agreed to pay to the US Federal Trade Commission in 2020 as part of a settlement.

The social media platform's growth has slowed because more people are using rival services like TikTok to entertain themselves. However, the social network still has over 2 billion users, including approximately 250 million in the US.