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A federal judge has approved a $ 650 million class action settlement against Facebook that claimed the company was using its facial recognition feature without the user’s consent.
What happened: In 2015, Chicago attorney Jay Edelson filed a lawsuit against Facebook, Inc (NASDAQ: FB) at Cook County Circuit Court. According to the lawsuit, Facebook violated Illinois biometric privacy law by failing to obtain consent before using facial recognition technology, which scans photos uploaded by users to create and store faces digitally, The Verge reported.
Along with the settlement amount, the judge also ordered the 1.6 million class-action members in Illinois to be paid “as quickly as possible.”
Why is this important: According to the order of Judge James Donato of the Northern District of California, the three named plaintiffs will each receive $ 5,000 and the others in the class action lawsuit will receive at least $ 345 each, according to the report.
Donato described the settlement as a “historic result” and said that “it is one of the largest settlements ever to come for a breach of privacy.”
In a statement, Facebook said, “We are pleased to have reached a settlement so that we can override this issue, which is in the best interests of our community and our shareholders.
Facebook isn’t the only company to run up against Illinois law. Sony Corp (NYSE: SNE) does not sell its robot dog, aibo, which has facial recognition technology, in the state due to the law.
© 2021 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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