Facebook (Meta Platforms) sealed an agreement to end the lawsuit for the Cambridge Analytica scandal for which it will pay 725 million dollars.
The settlement with the plaintiffs was disclosed last August, but the amount Meta agreed to pay for allowing British consulting firm Cambridge Analytica and other third-party companies to access the private information of millions of Facebook users was not disclosed.
The deal, which is being worked out in the United States, would be the largest for a class action lawsuit in the history of justice in the United States.
This Thursday, December 22, the final agreement was signed and now the parties are waiting for the court to approve it, as published by the Wall Street Journal.
According to Meta said through a communication representative, the agreement is “the best for the community and for the shareholders”. He also insisted that in the last three years, the social network improved its approaches related to privacy and implemented comprehensive programs in that regard.
Facebook owner Meta has agreed to pay $725 million to resolve a class-action lawsuit accusing the social media giant of allowing third parties, including Cambridge Analytica, to access users’ personal information https://t.co/fUA4jmeClM pic.twitter.com/vyZFOKBjSH
— Reuters (@Reuters) December 23, 2022
Facebook closes Cambridge Analytica case
The lawsuit followed revelations that Cambridge Analytica, a defunct British consultancy that worked on former US President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, had obtained and used data from Facebook users without permission.
Facebook later revealed that the scandal affected some 85 million users, 72 million of whom lived in the United States.
After the scandal, Meta Platforms, in those years Facebook, agreed to pay fines in the United States and the UK.
It also made changes to its privacy practices following a $5 billion settlement in 2019 with the US Federal Trade Commission.
Cambridge Analytica, which closed its doors after the scandal, offered political consultancy in the United States offering to use information from Facebook users to publish advertising and targeted content and influence voters with political messages that tapped into their deepest fears and desires.
In the lawsuit, lawyers for the users said that Facebook misled them into believing they were in control of their personal data, when in reality the platform allowed third parties, who paid for it, to access private personal information.
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