Facebook’s $20 Million Settlement and How It Affects Users

If you are one of 614,000 Facebook members that have appeared in site ads without permission, you may be receiving some cash from Facebook.

Five people lead a lawsuit against Facebook in 2011 involved Facebook’s “Sponsored Stories”. They said they represented all Facebook users, claiming that Facebook violated their privacy policies by posting data without permission.  The lawsuit has finally been settled. This Monday they got the final approval for a $20 million payout.

These “Sponsored Stories” are ads that were posted around the site, in both the right-hand section and in news feeds. The members whose photos, personal information, and details appeared in the ads will now receive $15 a piece.

Because of this lawsuit Facebook was required to update its Statement of Rights and Responsibilities and Data Use Policy so users can control how much data Facebook is allowed to share.

If you are one of the 614,000 that receive some cash, congrats! Hopefully this is a positive step for Facebook to reign in its big data sharing and let us have a little privacy.

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