A California federal judge approved a $ 650 million settlement in 2015, a class action lawsuit against Facebook over the use of photo tagging.
U.S. District Judge James Donato called the settlement “an important outcome” in a court case Friday and said he “will put at least $ 345 in the hands of each class member interested in being compensated.”
“Overall, the solution is a major gain for consumers in the hotly contested area of digital privacy,” Donato wrote.
The case centered around Facebook’s “tag suggestions” program, which identifies people’s faces in photos uploaded to the user’s tagging platform.
According to the information provided in the court file, the plaintiffs claimed that the platform used and stored digital scans of their faces without prior notice or consent, in violation of Illinois privacy laws.
Lawyer Jay Edelson, who originally filed the lawsuit in Illinois in April 2015, told The Chicago Tribune that the settlement was a “big deal.”
“It sends a pretty clear message that in Illinois, biometric privacy rights are here to stay,” he said.
Edelson celebrated the settlement on Twitter, writing that it was “the greatest solution to collective action on cash confidentiality in history.”
Edelson’s firm had no further comment on the settlement.
Facebook told the Associated Press in a statement: “We are delighted that we have come up with a solution so that we can get over this issue, which is in the interest of our community and our shareholders.”
Hill contacted Facebook for comments.
Facebook ended the photo tagging suggestions in 2019 and instead opted for a template that would allow users to control what data the platform has on their face.