Current:Home > NewsFacebook parent Meta will pay $725M to settle a privacy suit over Cambridge Analytica-LoTradeCoin
Facebook parent Meta will pay $725M to settle a privacy suit over Cambridge Analytica
View Date:2024-12-24 00:28:17
Facebook parent company Meta has agreed to pay $725 million to settle a class-action lawsuit claiming it improperly shared users' information with Cambridge Analytica, a data analytics firm used by the Trump campaign.
The proposed settlement is a result of revelations in 2018 that information of up to 87 million people may have been improperly accessed by the third-party firm, which filed for bankruptcy in 2018. This is the largest recovery ever in a data privacy class action and the most Facebook has paid to settle a private class action, the plaintiffs' lawyers said in a court filing Thursday.
Meta did not admit wrongdoing and maintains that its users consented to the practices and suffered no actual damages. Meta spokesperson Dina El-Kassaby Luce said in a statement that the settlement was "in the best interest of its community and shareholders" and that the company has revamped its approach to privacy.
Plaintiffs' lawyers said about 250 million to 280 million people may be eligible for payments as part of the class action settlement. The amount of the individual payments will depend on the number of people who come forward with valid claims.
"The amount of the recovery is particularly striking given that Facebook argued that its users consented to the practices at issue, and that the class suffered no actual damages," the plaintiffs' lawyers said in the court filing.
Facebook's data leak to Cambridge Analytica sparked global backlash and government investigations into the company's privacy practices the past several years.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg gave high-profile testimonies in 2020 before Congress and as part of the Federal Trade Commission's privacy case for which Facebook also agreed to a $5 billion fine. The tech giant also agreed to pay $100 million to resolve U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission claims that Facebook misled investors about the risks of user data misuse.
Facebook first learned of the leak in 2015, tracing the violation back to a Cambridge University psychology professor who harvested data of Facebook users through an app to create a personality test and passed it on to Cambridge Analytica.
Cambridge Analytica was in the business to create psychological profiles of American voters so that campaigns could tailor their pitches to different people. The firm was used by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's 2016 presidential campaign and then later by former President Donald Trump's campaign after he secured the Republican nomination.
According to a source close to the Trump campaign's data operations, Cambridge Analytica staffers did not use psychological profiling for his campaign but rather focused on more basic goals, like increasing online fundraising and reaching out to undecided voters.
Whistleblower Christopher Wylie then exposed the firm for its role in Brexit in 2019. He said Cambridge Analytica used Facebook user data to target people susceptible to conspiracy theories and convince British voters to support exiting the European Union. Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon was the vice president and U.S. hedge-fund billionaire Robert Mercer owned much of the firm at the time.
The court has set a hearing for March 2, 2023, when a federal judge is expected to give the settlement final approval.
NPR's Bobby Allyn contributed reporting.
veryGood! (512)
Related
- See Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani's Winning NFL Outing With Kids Zuma and Apollo
- 'Survivor' Season 47: Who went home first? See who was voted out in the premiere episode
- Emily in Paris’ Lily Collins Has Surprising Pick for Emily Cooper's One True Love
- Inmates stab correctional officers at a Massachusetts prison
- John Robinson, successful football coach at USC and with the LA Rams, has died at 89
- Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese change the WNBA’s landscape, and its future
- America’s political system is under stress as voters and their leaders navigate unfamiliar terrain
- Air Force to deploy Osprey aircraft in weeks following review over deadly crash
- Here's what 3 toys were inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame this year
- Why Sean Diddy Combs No Longer Has to Pay $100 Million in Sexual Assault Case
Ranking
- Controversial comedian Shane Gillis announces his 'biggest tour yet'
- Christina Ricci Accuses Her Dad of Being Failed Cult Leader
- Newly released Coast Guard footage shows wreckage of Titan submersible on ocean floor
- FAA investigating after Delta passengers report bleeding ears and noses
- 32 things we learned in NFL Week 10: Who will challenge for NFC throne?
- 'STOP!' Meet the humble heroes keeping kids safe every school day
- Indiana woman pleads guilty to hate crime after stabbing Asian American college student
- Wagon rolls over at Wisconsin apple orchard injuring about 25 children and adults
Recommendation
-
Atmospheric river to bring heavy snow, rain to Northwest this week
-
Leaders of Democratic protest of Israel-Hamas war won’t endorse Harris but warn against Trump
-
Arch Manning to get first start for No. 1 Texas as Ewers continues recovery from abdomen strain
-
Jimmy Carter receives Holbrooke award from Dayton Literary Peace Prize Foundation
-
FBI raids New York City apartment of Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan, reports say
-
See Snoop Dogg Make His Epic The Voice Debut By Smoking His Fellow Coaches (Literally)
-
A former officer texted a photo of the bloodied Tyre Nichols to his ex-girlfriend
-
Why Florence Pugh Will Likely Never Address Don’t Worry Darling Drama