Meta’s Record Facebook Privacy Deal Faces User-Payout Objections

Meta Platforms Inc. faces objections to a proposed $725 million settlement for a long-running consumer privacy lawsuit that claimed Facebook illegally shared user data with the research firm Cambridge Analytica.

Two Facebook users took issue with the suggested method of distributing funds to individuals who may have been impacted by the data-sharing, according to an objection filed Wednesday in the US District Court for California’s Northern District. They also questioned whether the deal too broadly relieves Meta from liability for claims related to third-party access to user data.

The objection could delay final approval of the deal reached last December. A federal judge in California gave initial approval in March to the class action agreement between Meta and users of its social media platform Facebook.

The settlement is meant to resolve a 2018 lawsuit stemming from revelations that political consultancy Cambridge Analytica gained access to data on millions of Facebook users and their friends via a third-party quiz app. The consulting firm used the data to assist its clients, such as the 2016 Donald Trump presidential campaign, with voter profiling and targeting.

The settlement in this case is the largest recovery ever in a data-privacy class action, according to lawyers representing Facebook users. Settlement funds are set to be distributed to Facebook users based on how long they had an account on the social media platform during a specified time frame.

Fund distribution should factor in how many Facebook friends may have exposed each user to third-party privacy invasion, the objection says.

The settlement faces another objection from a civil rights group representing formerly incarcerated individuals called All of Us or None, which until recently maintained a Facebook group page for its members. The organization critiqued how the settlement class is defined.

Large-scale deals to resolve many similar legal claims at once often face objections from class members who argue a proposed settlement is unfair in some way. Sometimes these objections lead to refinement of the settlement.

The case is In re Facebook Consumer Privacy User Profile Litig., N.D. Cal., No. 3:18-md-2843, settlement objections filed 7/26/23.