Learn About Facebook Settlement Claims And Compensation

Understanding Facebook Settlement Claims: Background and History

Several Facebook settlements have occurred over the years, with the most notable involving privacy concerns and data handling practices. The largest settlement to date came in 2020 when Facebook agreed to pay $100 million to settle charges with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regarding deceptive privacy practices. This settlement addressed concerns about how the company collected, shared, and used personal information without proper user consent.

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In 2021, Facebook faced another significant settlement related to employment discrimination. The company agreed to pay $100 million to resolve a lawsuit alleging it showed targeted job ads to people based on their age, gender, and national origin. This settlement highlighted concerns about discriminatory advertising practices on the platform.

Additional settlements have involved issues like biometric privacy violations. In Illinois, Facebook settled a lawsuit involving its photo tagging feature and facial recognition technology for $650 million in 2020. This case was based on Illinois's Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), which requires companies to obtain informed consent before collecting biometric data.

Another notable settlement in 2023 involved allegations that Facebook mislead advertisers about video viewing metrics. The company agreed to pay $714 million to settle this class action lawsuit, which claimed Facebook inflated video ad completion rates and reach statistics.

Understanding these different settlements matters because they affect different groups of people. Some settlements target consumers who used Facebook as regular users, while others affect people who were shown targeted ads or job postings. The terms, claims processes, and compensation amounts vary significantly between settlements.

Practical Takeaway: Multiple Facebook settlements exist with different focuses. Identifying which settlement applies to your situation is the first step in learning about potential compensation. Different settlements have different rules about who can file a claim and how much compensation may be available.

The FTC Privacy Settlement and What It Covered

The Federal Trade Commission settlement from 2020 represented one of Facebook's largest payments to date. This settlement addressed allegations that Facebook misled users about their ability to control the privacy of their information. Specifically, the FTC claimed Facebook told users they could restrict sharing of their data with apps, but the company continued sharing information even after users thought they had restricted it.

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The settlement also covered concerns about Facebook's use of phone numbers that users provided for security purposes, like two-factor authentication. According to the complaint, Facebook used these phone numbers for targeted advertising without users' knowledge or consent. Additionally, the settlement addressed the Cambridge Analytica scandal fallout, where a third-party app improperly obtained data on millions of Facebook users without their permission.

The $100 million payment from this settlement was the largest civil penalty ever imposed on any company at that time. However, it's important to understand that this settlement was primarily a financial penalty paid by Facebook to the FTC as a government agency. This was not a settlement that directly compensated individual users through a claims process in the traditional sense.

Instead, the settlement focused on requiring Facebook to make structural and operational changes. The company had to implement new privacy controls, conduct privacy audits, and change how it handles user data going forward. These changes were designed to protect future users rather than provide monetary compensation to past users.

The settlement also required Facebook to delete datasets obtained improperly, establish a privacy program, and receive regular FTC monitoring. While individual users did not receive direct payments from this particular settlement, the changes imposed may have affected user privacy protections and data handling practices.

Practical Takeaway: The FTC settlement was primarily about changing Facebook's practices and imposing penalties, not about compensating individual users. Understanding this distinction helps clarify why this settlement may not involve a traditional claims process with individual payouts.

The Biometric Privacy Settlement and Illinois BIPA Claims

The biometric privacy settlement with Facebook involved violations of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA). This law is one of the strictest biometric privacy laws in the United States. Facebook's photo tagging feature and facial recognition technology were at the center of this lawsuit.

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Specifically, Facebook's "Tag Suggestions" feature used facial recognition to identify people in photos without obtaining their consent beforehand. When someone uploaded a photo to Facebook, the system would automatically scan it and suggest which friends to tag based on facial recognition analysis. Under Illinois law, this constituted collection of biometric information without informed written consent.

The $650 million settlement in 2020 was a class action settlement, meaning it covered a large group of people rather than individual claims. The settlement applied to Illinois residents whose biometric information (specifically, their face scans) was collected through this feature between May 3, 2011, and September 17, 2019.

Under this settlement, affected Illinois residents could submit claims for compensation. The settlement established a claims process where individuals could document their Facebook usage during the relevant time period. Approved claimants received monetary compensation from the settlement fund, though the exact amount depended on how many valid claims were submitted and approved.

The key factor for this settlement was geographic location. Only Illinois residents were covered because the settlement was based on an Illinois-specific privacy law. Other states either did not have similar laws or had not pursued similar legal action against Facebook at the time. However, this settlement helped establish legal precedent that biometric data collection requires consent.

The settlement also resulted in Facebook disabling the Tag Suggestions feature for users worldwide and making changes to how the company handles facial recognition data. These operational changes affect all Facebook users, regardless of whether they could claim compensation.

Practical Takeaway: The biometric settlement specifically covered Illinois residents and involved a formal claims process. If you lived in Illinois during the time period covered and used Facebook's photo features, you may have information about filing a claim in this settlement.

The Employment Discrimination Settlement for Targeted Job Ads

Facebook's employment discrimination settlement addressed concerns about how the company's advertising tools allowed employers to target job ads based on protected characteristics like age, gender, and national origin. In 2021, Facebook agreed to pay $100 million to settle allegations that its advertising system facilitated age discrimination in job advertisements.

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The case highlighted how Facebook's targeting options could be used illegally. Employers could select to show job ads only to people within certain age ranges, predominantly to men or women, or to people of specific national origins. This practice potentially violated federal employment discrimination laws, even though Facebook was not directly employing these people.

The lawsuit was brought by the U.S. Department of Justice, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), and state attorneys general. Their investigation found that Facebook provided tools specifically designed to allow demographic targeting in job advertising, despite knowing this could facilitate illegal employment discrimination.

This settlement differed from individual claims scenarios because the harm was potentially experienced by job seekers who didn't see certain job opportunities due to demographic targeting. People who weren't shown jobs because of their age or other characteristics experienced the discrimination, but they were not necessarily the ones filing claims. Instead, the settlement required Facebook to change its practices and pay damages.

As part of this settlement, Facebook had to eliminate certain targeting options from its job ads tool. The company removed the ability to target job ads based on age, gender, and other protected categories. Additionally, Facebook implemented a new Housing Ads tool with restrictions on discriminatory targeting.

The settlement also required Facebook to conduct regular audits of its advertising tools to ensure compliance with civil rights laws. The company had to establish a civil rights program and provide training about discriminatory advertising practices.

Practical Takeaway: This settlement focused on changing how Facebook operates its advertising tools rather than directly compensating individuals. Job seekers who were potentially affected by discriminatory targeting benefited from the resulting changes to Facebook's systems.

The Video Advertising Metrics Settlement and How It Works

In 2023, Facebook settled a lawsuit alleging that it misled advertisers about video viewing metrics. Multiple advertisers claimed that Facebook inflated video completion rates, reach statistics, and other performance metrics that advertisers relied on to make purchasing decisions. This settlement involved a $714 million payment by Facebook's parent company, Meta.

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The lawsuit centered on Facebook's video metric reporting. Advertisers were told their videos were being watched to completion at much higher rates than was actually occurring. Some reports showed completion rates were overstated by as much as 80 percent. Additionally, Facebook reportedly told advertisers that video ads reached a certain number of people, but the actual reach was significantly lower.

These misrepresentations affected advertisers' business decisions. Companies