The deadline is drawing near for eligible claimants to file for their share of a $725 million payout to Facebook users, with only a handful of days remaining to take action.
People who used Facebook in the U.S. between May 24, 2007, and December 22, 2022, could qualify for a slice of the money, which Facebook parent company Meta agreed to pay earlier this year to settle a lawsuit alleging the platform shared users’ data without their consent.
To be eligible, users must have resided in America during the entirety of that time. The last day to file a claim is this Friday, Aug. 25.
The case stems from 2018 revelations that Cambridge Analytica, a firm with ties to former President Donald Trump’s political strategist Steve Bannon, had paid a Facebook app developer for access to the personal information of roughly 87 million users of the platform.
That data was then used to target U.S. voters during the 2016 campaign that ended with Trump winning the White House.
Meta agreed to settle the suit in December and has expressly denied any liability or wrongdoing.
It is not yet known how much money individual users may receive as part of the payout, because it will be dependent on how many people submit valid claims and how long a user was on Facebook during the period.
Users who are eligible are automatically a part of the settlement unless they choose to opt out and receive no payment, which would allow them to sue or be a part of another lawsuit related to the allegations.
Qualified Facebook users who take no action will not receive a payment and will give up the right to sue, continue to sue or be a part of another lawsuit related to the claims.
The eligible funds will not be released until after a court decides to approve the settlement. A final hearing is scheduled for Sept. 7.
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