Facebook’s parent company Meta has agreed to pay $725 million to settle a class-action lawsuit accusing the social media company of allowing third parties, including political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica, to access millions of its users’ data without their consent, Reuters reported
Disclosed in a court filing on Thursday, Meta’s proposed settlement is the outcome of a huge scandal that dates back to 2018, whereby Facebook was accused of disclosing the personal information of 87 million of its users to Cambridge Analytica.
The British political firm shut down following the allegations, which also suggested that the illegally shared data was used to inform political campaigns, including the 2016 election campaign of former US President Donald Trump.
“After more than four years of intensive litigation, the Named Plaintiffs have achieved an extraordinary outcome on behalf of the Class,” specified the filing, adding that the proposed settlement is “the largest recovery ever achieved in a data privacy class action and the most Facebook has ever paid to resolve a private class action.”
The 73-page long court document indicated that “the Plaintiffs allege that Facebook was liable for negligence and gross negligence in failing to adequately monitor third parties’ access to sensitive user information.”
A Meta spokesperson told CNBC that the social media giant “pursued a settlement as it’s in the best interest of our community and shareholders,” adding that Meta has “revamped” its approach to privacy over the past three years.
Meanwhile, the lead plaintiffs’ lawyers Lesley Weaver and Derek Loeser stressed that “this historic settlement will provide meaningful relief to the class in this complex and novel privacy case.”
The proposed settlement is currently awaiting the approval of judges overseeing the case in the Northern District of California, with the court hearing set to take place in March 2023.
