A California federal judge has approved a $ 650 million settlement in 2015 in a class action lawsuit against Facebook for its use of photo tagging.
U.S. District Judge James Donato called the deal a “fundamental outcome” in a lawsuit filed Friday and said it “will put at least $ 345 in the hands of all interested class members to be compensated.” .
“Overall, the deal is a big win for consumers in the area of hotly contested digital privacy,” Donato wrote.
The case focused on Facebook’s “tag suggestions” program, which identifies people’s faces in photos posted on the platform for tagging users.
According to the background provided in the court filing, the plaintiffs alleged that the platform used and stored digital scans of their faces without prior notice or consent, in violation of Illinois privacy laws.
Attorney Jay Edelson, who originally filed the lawsuit in Illinois in April 2015, told The Chicago Tribune that the deal was a “big deal.”
“It sends a pretty clear message that in Illinois, biometric privacy rights are here to stay,” he said.
Edelson held the settlement on Twitter, writing that it was “the largest cash privacy collective resource solution in history.”
Edelson’s signature made no additional comment on the deal.
Facebook told The Associated Press in a statement, “We are pleased to have reached an agreement to be able to overcome this issue, which is in the best interest of our community and our shareholders.”
The Hill has contacted Facebook for comments.
Facebook ended the photo tagging suggestions in 2019 and instead opted for a model that would allow users to control what data the platform has on its face.