Facebook has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit for $725 MILLION, and YOU are probably entitled to some money.
The case dates back to the Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2018, when there were allegations that Facebook shared users' information with third parties without their permission. They still deny doing that, by the way.
If you had a Facebook account between May 24th of 2007 to December 22nd of 2022, you can file a claim online, or download a form and mail it in. It only takes a few minutes to do . . . you just have to give them your user name, your contact information, and how you'd like to receive your payment.
The deadline is August 25th. And the money wouldn't arrive until after that.
They haven't said how much each person is entitled to . . . but despite it being a $725 million settlement . . . don't expect to get much more than the price of a cup of coffee. If that.
For starters, the lawyers' fees and court costs will eat up a decent chunk, and if EVERYONE in the U.S. who's had a Facebook account is eligible, that means it could be shared among 250 million to 280 million users.
Of course, not all those people will file a claim . . . and they are giving people MORE money based on how many months during those 15 years you had an account, so you're better off the longer you were on Facebook.
(It's quick enough that it's worth doing, just in case there's a little more in the kitty than expected. And hey, even a free coffee is nice.)
(But this is sort of like the Equifax data breach from a while back, where HALF the country was eligible.)
(The settlement was for $425 million, and they initially talked about how people could get payouts of "up to $125." But once all the lawyers were paid, and all the mouths were fed, most people only got $5.)
(My share was exactly $5.21. I bought a coffee.)