FAQs
BASIC INFORMATION
A federal court authorized this Notice because you have a right to know about the proposed Settlement of this class action lawsuit and about all of your options before the Court decides whether to grant final approval of the Settlement. This Notice explains the lawsuit, your legal rights, what benefits are available, and who can receive them.
For information on how to determine if you are a Settlement Class Member, and therefore eligible for benefits under this settlement, see Question 5.
Numerous lawsuits were brought on behalf of Facebook users who allege that Facebook (now Meta Platforms, Inc.) shared or otherwise made accessible to third parties (including but not limited to third-party app developers, “whitelisted” parties, business partners, advertisers, and data brokers) user data and data about users’ friends without permission of the users whose data was shared, and did not sufficiently monitor and enforce third-party access or use of that data. The Honorable Vince Chhabria of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California was appointed to oversee these lawsuits, which have been consolidated as In re: Facebook, Inc. Consumer Privacy User Profile Litigation, Case No. 3:18-md-02843-VC (N.D. Cal.). The people that filed this lawsuit are called the “Plaintiffs” and the company they sued, Facebook, Inc. (now Meta Platforms, Inc.) is called the “Defendant.” Settlement Class Members include all Facebook users in the United States between May 24, 2007, and December 22, 2022, inclusive. Meta expressly denies any liability or wrongdoing.
In a class action, one or more individuals sue on behalf of other people with similar claims. These individuals are known as “class representatives.” Together, the people included in the class action are called a “class” or “class members.” One court resolves the lawsuit for all class members, except for those who opt out from a settlement. In this Settlement, the Settlement Class Representatives are Plaintiffs Steven Akins, Jason Ariciu, Anthony Bell, Bridgett Burk, Terry Fischer, Tyler King, Jordan O’Hara, and Cheryl Senko.
The Court did not decide in favor of Plaintiffs or Defendant. Defendant denies all claims and that it violated any law. Plaintiffs and Defendant agreed to a Settlement to avoid the costs and risks of a trial, and to allow the Settlement Class Members to receive payments from the Settlement. The Settlement Class Representatives and their attorneys think the Settlement is best for all Settlement Class Members.
WHO IS IN THE SETTLEMENT
The Settlement Class includes all Facebook users in the United States between May 24, 2007, and December 22, 2022, inclusive (the “Class Period”).
Yes. The Settlement Class does not include: (i) all persons who are directors, officers, legal representatives, alleged co-conspirators, and agents of Defendant or its wholly or partly owned subsidiaries or affiliated companies or employees of Defendant or its subsidiaries and affiliated companies; (ii) counsel for any plaintiff whose case was consolidated into this MDL and their employees, including but not limited to Class Counsel for Plaintiffs and their employees; (iii) the Special Master, Discovery Mediators, and Settlement Mediator who participated in this case and their staff; and the Judges and Court staff, as well as any appellate court to which this matter is ever assigned; and (iv) eligible persons who elect to opt out of the Settlement Class.
THE SETTLEMENT BENEFITS
Meta will establish a Settlement Fund of seven hundred twenty-five million dollars ($725,000,000.00) to pay all valid claims submitted by the Settlement Class Members, as well as notice and administration expenses, any attorneys’ fees and costs, and any Service Awards for the Settlement Class Representatives.
The answer depends on how many Settlement Class Members submit valid claims and how long you were a user on Facebook during the Class Period.
First, the total amount distributed will be the Settlement Fund minus the Administrative Costs, any amount awarded by the Court as fees and costs to Class Counsel, and any Service Awards to the Settlement Class Representatives. The resulting amount is called the “Net Settlement Fund.” The Net Settlement Fund is the amount of money available to be distributed to Settlement Class Members.
Next, the Net Settlement Fund will be allocated to Settlement Class Members who submit valid claims, also called “Authorized Claimants.” The Settlement Administrator will assign each Authorized Claimant one point for each month in which the Authorized Claimant had an activated Facebook account during the Class Period.
Now that the deadline for submitting a claim has expired (see Question 11 below), the Settlement Administrator will add up all the points assigned to all the Authorized Claimants and divide the Net Settlement Amount by that number. The result will be the amount of the Net Settlement Fund available for each point. Each Authorized Claimant will receive that per-point amount multiplied by the number of points they were assigned.
Unless you exclude yourself from the Settlement, you cannot sue, continue to sue, or be part of any other lawsuit against the Defendant about any of the legal claims this Settlement resolves or the factual allegations on which this case is based. The “Released Claims” section in the Settlement Agreement describes the legal claims that you give up (“release”) if you remain in the Settlement Class.
HOW TO GET A PAYMENT—MAKING A CLAIM
Your public username for your profile is the same as your timeline address, and appears where “[username]” is in the following example: https://www.facebook.com/[username]. You can also find it in the following places:
On Facebook’s Website:
Navigate to: “Account” > “Settings and Privacy” > “Settings” > “Username”
On Facebook’s Mobile Application:
Navigate to: “Menu” > Select your display name at the top of the screen > Select the “…” next to “Edit Profile” > Username appears under “Your profile link” as: https://www.facebook.com/[username]
If your account settings have moved to the Meta Accounts Center (for website):
Navigate to: “Account” > “Settings and Privacy” > “Settings” > “See more in Accounts Center” > “Profiles” > Select your Facebook profile > “Username”
If your account settings have moved to the Meta Accounts Center (for mobile application):
Navigate to: “Menu” > “Settings & Privacy” > “Settings” > “See more in Accounts Center” > “Profiles” > Select your Facebook profile > “Username”
There are some Facebook users who do not have usernames. If you have followed the instructions in FAQ 10 and have verified that you have no username, please provide the email and/or phone number associated with your account. You can find the email and/or phone number associated with your account in the following places:
On Facebook’s Website:
Navigate to: Your Profile (Click on the icon of your profile photo) > “About” > “Contact and basic info”
On Facebook’s Mobile Application:
Navigate to: “Menu” > Select your display name at the top of the screen > “See your About info” > Scroll down to “Contact info”
If your account settings have moved to the Meta Accounts Center (for website):
Navigate to: “Account” > “Settings and Privacy” > “Settings” > “See more in Accounts Center” > “Personal Details” > “Contact Info”
If your account settings have moved to the Meta Accounts Center (for mobile application):
Navigate to: “Menu” > “Settings & Privacy” > “Settings” > “See more in Accounts Center” > “Personal Details” > “Contact Info”
FRAUD ALERT REGARDING REQUESTS FOR SENSITIVE PERSONAL INFORMATION OR PAYMENT TO RECEIVE YOUR SETTLEMENT AWARD
The official Settlement Website for this matter is www.connectwithsettleonline.com. Any other website, domain, or email address claiming to be associated with the Settlement is not authorized by the Court or the Settlement Administrator. We are aware of fraudulent domains that falsely claim to represent the Settlement and attempt to collect personal or financial information, including bank account details. These communications are not legitimate and may be attempts to defraud you.
SECOND CHANCE PROCESS
The Second Chance process gives claimants whose intial digital payment was unsuccessful an oppurtunity to provide updated payment infomation so their settlement payment can be reissued.
If you received an email notice notifying you of the second chance process, it is because our records indicate your initial digital payment was not successful. The email will contain a unique link specific to your claim.
The second chance emails are only being sent to claimants whose intial digital payment was unsuccessful. If your intial payment was successful or sent via check then you will not be included in the process.
These emails will be sent in Batches based upon when your intial payment was issued and subsequently failed.
Claimants have 21 days to respond to the second chance email and provide updated payment infromation. If you do not provide updated payment information within this timeframe, your payment will not be reissued.
The second chance email sent will include a unique link which will bring you to portal that allows you to select a new payment method and assocatied email or phone number to that method.
