Read your email carefully this week: On Monday morning, I received an email from PayPal with a seductive subject line, “Your Facebook Consumer Privacy User Profile Litigation Settlement Payment”. No, this is not a scam. I opened it to find my PayPal account has received $37.55, which is my share of Facebook’s $725 million privacy settlement.
Don’t miss our unbiased technical content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET As the preferred source of Google.
I was glad to find this email because the money would sit on Paypal until I made a PayPal purchase. Instead, I chose to transfer it to my bank, which is expected to appear on Thursday.
That’s good news. The bad news is, if you ignore it Claim before the 2023 deadlineyou are unfortunate.
It all stems from the largest privacy settlement in U.S. history: Facebook’s parent company Meta paid $725 million to resolve claims involving sharing user data with third-party companies.
Back in 2018, Facebook was accused of improperly disclosing user personal information. Cambridge AnalyticsIt was the British political consulting firm that had a connection with Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential election and finally got it Up to 87 million Facebook users. Meta denied any misconduct in a 2023 statement, saying it agreed to the deal because “it is in the best interest of our community and shareholders.”
A META representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The amount you receive depends on the time you have an active Facebook account.
Different payment amounts
this Official website of litigation There is more information on settlement payments. It noted that settlement payments are sent only to class members with approved claims. The payment allocation will continue over the next 10 weeks. If your claim is approved, a notification will be sent to your email a few days before payment.
If you are unsure about the status of the claim form and want to check it, you can send an email to the core administrator info@facebookuserprivacysettlement.combut you must include your claim ID.
Some recipients will pay by direct deposit, Venmo, Zelle, mailed checks or virtual prepayment Mastercard based on the method they choose when filing a claim. I certainly don’t remember which method I chose then, but PayPal email jogged my memory.
Your settlement amount may be slightly different from mine. The website says authorized claimants have an authorized person with an active Facebook account every month during class. Points help determine the amount you pay.
according to CBS Newsthe average payment amount is $29.43 and the maximum payment amount is $38.36.