Eligible Facebook users will be one step closer to receiving payouts from a class-action lawsuit worth over $700 million after a final approval hearing is held in two days.
Facebook users who had an account between May 24, 2007, and Dec. 22, 2022, had until Aug. 25 to file a claim and receive a portion of the nationwide $725 million privacy settlement. A final approval hearing is scheduled for Thursday at 1 p.m. PT.
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Meta, Facebook's parent company, settled a myriad of privacy-related class-action lawsuits in December 2022 for approximately $725 million following allegations of allowing third-party agencies to access the private data of users and their friends without consent.
The data belonging to nearly 70 million domestic Facebook users was accessed by Cambridge Analytica, a political consulting firm, according to the litigation. Personal data included birthdays, private messages, and area of residence.
Thursday's hearing will consider whether to approve the settlement, objections to the settlement, requests for awards to settlement class representatives, and requests for attorneys' fees and costs for their work in the litigation.
A video conference will be held following the approval hearing. People can tune into the conference by visiting the livestream link.
Even if the court approves the settlement at Thursday's hearing, there could be appeals, which makes the date of payout distribution unknown at this time.
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"It is always uncertain whether appeals will be filed and, if so, how long it will take to resolve them. Settlement payments will be distributed as soon as possible if the Court grants Final Approval of the Settlement and after any appeals are resolved," Facebook wrote on the litigation's FAQ page.
How much an individual will receive from the settlement is dependent on three factors: how many total claims are filed, how long an individual was active in the prescribed time period, and the sum of the total net settlement.