Facebook Agrees To A $725M Cambridge Analytica Class Action Settlement - Class Actions - United States

[Gunnar Larson]

Moscow Exchange, if you are listening...

https://www.mondaq.com/unitedstates/class-actions/1271180/facebook-agrees-to-a-$725m-cambridge-analytica-class-action-settlement


United States: Facebook Agrees To A $725M Cambridge Analytica Class Action
Settlement
16 January 2023
by Mitzi L. Hill (Atlanta)
Taylor English Duma

The data harvesting scandal over Facebook's sharing of user data with
outside developers appears to be close to settlement. The social network
has reportedly agreed to pay $725M to settle claims of affected class
members (estimated class size: 250-280 million users).

Why It Matters
Decision after decision in the EU and, increasingly, the US, is chipping
away at the blank wall that used to confront users who wanted to know what
happened to their data once it was collected by a company. Facebook,
Google, et al. can afford to keep fighting in court and keep paying
eye-popping fines. Most companies cannot.

Although the large social and advertising companies have a vested interest
in skirting or at least testing privacy laws, most companies would do well
to ignore their example. The better path for companies that want to stay
out of the regulatory cross-hairs? Disclosure, transparency, and choice
when dealing with users and users' data. That applies to any downstream
uses they allow, as well.

Cambridge Analytica obtained the information from researcher Aleksandr
Kogan, who gathered the data in 2014 through the personality quiz app
"thisisyourdigitallife," according to reports. Only 270,000 Facebook users
downloaded Kogan's app, but he reportedly collected data from up to 87
million of those people's Facebook friends.

www.mediapost.com/...

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