The parent company of Facebook, Meta, has agreed to pay $725 million. According to American technology publication The Verge, the company settled a class action lawsuit alleging that it shared users’ personal data with Cambridge Analytica.
According to Keller Rohrback, the law firm representing the plaintiffs, the proposed $725 million settlement is the largest recovery ever achieved in a privacy class action.
After Facebook disclosed that it harvested the information of around 87 million users and shared it with Cambridge Analytica, a political consulting firm associated with Trump’s 2016 campaign, the lawsuit was filed.
According to reports, the consultancy used the data to target political advertisements and profile voters.
The court filing states that Facebook has “meaningfully changed the practices that gave rise to Plaintiffs’ allegations” and “significantly enhanced its ability to restrict and monitor how third parties acquire and use Facebook user information.”
A judge in the Northern District of California must still approve the proposed settlement, which does not admit any wrongdoing.
In response to the news, a spokesperson for Meta told CNBC, “We pursued a settlement as it’s in the best interest of our community and shareholders. Over the last three years we revamped our approach to privacy and implemented a comprehensive privacy program.”
Since the 2018 scandal, Meta has “significantly changed” its data-sharing practices, and no longer allows third parties to access user data.
