(NEXSTAR) — A huge $725 million settlement involving Facebook’s parent company Meta was provisionally approved by a judge on Wednesday, paving the way for users of the social media platform to receive a portion of the payout to apply.
Meta has agreed to pay to settle a lawsuit alleging that Facebook allowed users’ personal information to be shared with third parties, the most famous of which is Cambridge Analytica, a consulting firm that supported Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. The company collected data from up to 87 million Facebook users, the Associated Press reported.
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Final approval of the settlement isn’t expected before September, but Facebook users won’t have to wait to make their claim.
Who is entitled to a payment?
You don’t need to know if a third-party app accessed your data to get part of the billing. Anyone who was a Facebook user between May 24, 2007 and December 22, 2022 is eligible according to the billing page.
That means lots of people are eligible – Facebook reports 2 billion users worldwide, including about 200 million in the United States and Canada.
Only US users are eligible for a payment.
How do I apply?
There are two ways to submit a claim: online or by mail.
To submit online you must click here, answer a few questions about yourself and then decide how you would like to be paid (prepaid gift card, direct deposit, PayPal, etc.).
To submit by mail, you will need to print out some forms and mail them to the settlement administrator in Philadelphia.
You must submit the form by August 25 to qualify.
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how much do i get
As with many class action lawsuits, each individual’s payout depends on how many claims are received. How long you’ve been a Facebook user also determines the size of your payment – the longer you’ve had an active account, the larger your payment will be. (You must disclose whether you deleted your Facebook account when filing a claim.)
And before any money lands in your bank account, legal and administrative fees are deducted from the $725 million pot.
When will I get paid?
The final settlement hearing is scheduled for September 7, 2023, so approved payments will definitely not be shipped before then. “Settlement payments will be made as soon as possible if the court issues final approval of the settlement and after all appeals have been resolved,” the claims page’s FAQ explains.
The hearing date can also change.
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