Please read your email carefully this week: On Monday morning, I received an email from PayPal with the enticing subject line: “Your Facebook Consumer Privacy User Profile Litigation Settlement Payment.” And no, it was not a scam. I opened it and discovered that my PayPal account had been sent $37.55 as part of Facebook’s $725 million privacy deal.
I was glad I saw the email, because the money would have stayed there in PayPal until I made a purchase with PayPal. Instead, I chose to transfer it to my bank, where it is expected to arrive on Thursday.
That’s the good news. The bad news is that if you didn’t file a claim by the 2023 deadline, you’re out of luck.
This all comes out of what could be the largest privacy settlement in US history: Facebook’s parent company, Meta, is paying $725 million to settle lawsuits related to the sharing of user data with third-party companies.
In 2018, Facebook was accused of improperly disclosing users’ personal information. Cambridge Analytica, a UK political consulting firm linked to Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, ended up with the data of up to 87 million Facebook users. Meta denied any wrongdoing and said in a 2023 statement that it accepted the settlement because “it is in the best interest of our community and our shareholders.”
A Meta representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Payment amounts differ
He lawsuit official website has more information about settlement payments. It notes that settlement payments are sent only to class members with approved claims. Distribution of payments will continue over the next 10 weeks. If your claim is approved, a notification will be sent to your email a few days before your payment is issued.
If you are unsure of the status of your claim form and would like to verify it, you can email the Settlement Administrator at [email protected], but you must include your claim ID.
Some recipients will be paid via direct deposit, Venmo, Zelle, a mailed check, or a virtual prepaid MasterCard, depending on the method they chose when they submitted their claim. I certainly didn’t remember which method I chose back then, but the email from PayPal reminded me.
Your settlement amount may be slightly different than mine. The website says authorized claimants receive one point for each month they had an active Facebook account during the class period. The number of points helps determine the amount you are paid.
According CBS NewsThe average payment amount is $29.43 and the maximum payment is $38.36.