Class Action Deal Proposed Over ‘Like’ Ads On Facebook With $10 Million to Charity

A class action challenging Facebook Inc.'s “Sponsored Stories” advertising program, which allegedly violates a California right of publicity law by displaying user names and profile pictures in ads without users’ consent, may be settled through the establishment of a $10 million charity fund, a June 14 filing in federal district court by the suit’s mediator says (Fraley v. Facebook Inc., N.D. Cal., No. CV 11-01726 LHK (PSG)).

The settlement, if approved by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, would avoid potentially catastrophic damages for Facebook because of the potentially enormous class, the mediator’s declaration ...