New York (CNN) – Facebook users who had active accounts at any time between May 2007 and December 2022 can now apply to receive a portion of parent company Meta’s $725 million settlement related to the Cambridge Analytica scandal to obtain.
Meta agreed to pay in December to settle a long-running class action lawsuit accusing it of allowing Cambridge Analytica and other third parties to access private user information and misleading users about its privacy practices.
The legal battle began four years ago after an international outcry following the company’s disclosure that the private information of up to 87 million Facebook users was obtained by Cambridge Analytica, a data analytics firm affiliated with the Trump campaign.
The California judge overseeing the case granted preliminary approval to the settlement late last month, and Facebook users can now request cash payment as part of a settlement.
The application form – which requires some personal information and information about a user’s Facebook account – can be completed online or printed out and submitted by mail. The form only takes a few minutes to fill out and must be submitted by August 25 to be included in the settlement.
Any US Facebook user who had an active account anytime between May 24, 2007 and December 22, 2022 is eligible to be part of the comparison class, including those who have since deleted their accounts.
It’s not yet clear what each settlement payment will be. The fund will be distributed to group members who submit valid claims based on how long they had an active Facebook account during the relevant period, according to a FAQ page on the comparison site.
A final hearing to approve the settlement is scheduled for September 7th. Settlement payments will be made upon court approval, barring an appeal.
Meta has not admitted any wrongdoing as part of the settlement. Facebook made changes in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica incident, including restricting third-party access to user data and improving communication with users about how their data is collected and shared.
“We have sought a settlement as it is in the best interests of our community and our shareholders,” Meta spokeswoman Dina Luce said in a statement following the settlement in December. “Over the last three years we have revised our data protection approach and implemented a comprehensive data protection program. We look forward to continuing to build services people love and trust, with privacy at the forefront.”