Written by: Katie Scott, Business Reporter
Facebook’s parent company, Meta, has agreed to pay $725m to settle a legal action over a data breach that has been rumbling on since 2018.
Meta has not admitted any wrongdoing but said in a statement that settling was "in the best interest of our community and shareholders". It added: "We look forward to continuing to build services people love and trust with privacy at the forefront."
The settlement will now be put before a judge in San Francisco.
It was filed on behalf of a “large proposed class” of Facebook users - “in the range of 250-280 million" people according to the document relating to the ruling. These are representative of all US Facebook members during the "class period" which runs from 24 May 2007 to 22 December 2022, according to BBC News.
The case was filed after a Canadian data scientist called Christopher Wylie revealed in March 2018 that a political consultancy called Cambridge Analytica had illegally obtained the Facebook information of 87 million people and used it to build psychological profiles of voters. As Time magazine wrote: “Using cutting-edge research, Cambridge Analytica - which was funded by the billionaire hedge-fund owner Robert Mercer, and effectively run by Steve Bannon from 2014 onward - spread narratives on social media aiming to ignite a culture war, suppress black voter turnout and exacerbate racist views held by some white voters.” Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg responded by promising to better protect users’ data. “We have a responsibility to protect your data, and if we can't then we don't deserve to serve you,” he said.
A further hearing on this settlement is due to take place on 2nd March next year. A similar case has been launched in the UK by Dr Liza Lovdahl Gormsen. News from the UK Competition Appeal Tribunal is expected in 2023.
