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Illinois Facebook users may be entitled to at least $ 345 each after a federal judge approved a $ 650 million settlement in a 2015 lawsuit over Facebook’s photo tagging technology.
The social media giant initially agreed to pay the record settlement in July 2020 following a class action lawsuit in Illinois against the company’s use of facial recognition technology, which violated biometric privacy law state allowing residents to claim up to $ 5,000 if businesses use the technology for data without user consent.
“Regardless of the measure, the $ 650 million settlement in this biometric privacy class action lawsuit is a landmark result. It is one of the largest life breach settlements ever. private, and it will put at least $ 345 in the hands of each member of the group interested in being compensated, ”US District Judge James Donato said in a court filing Friday.
Illinois is the only state with a law allowing people to seek damages for such unauthorized data collection.
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Lawyer Jay Edelson celebrated the settlement’s approval in a tweet Friday.
“One of the main takeaways is the Court’s emphasis on innovative opinions and ensuring unprecedented claims rates,” he said. “Settlements need to be measured by the amount of money that goes to group members. If no one participates, that’s a problem. The court’s approach has set a new benchmark.”
Facebook used automatic photo recognition technology from 2015, so when users uploaded photos of other users, the platform’s photo tagging tool would immediately display name suggestions in order to facilitate the marking process. The tech giant updated its facial recognition policies in September 2019 to require user consent.
The company initially agreed to settle the case for a record $ 550 million in January 2020, but Donato said that was not enough under Illinois law, according to NPR.
“It’s $ 550 million. It’s a lot. But the question is, is it really a lot?” Donato asked in a June 4 hearing, according to NPR, adding: “They are taking what is effectively a 98.75 percent reduction on the amount the Illinois legislature said could be owed in this matter. if you could prove your case. “
By settling $ 650 million, claimants can expect to receive between “at least $ 345,” according to Donato’s latest filing.
Other tech giants have come under fire in Illinois for using facial recognition technology without user consent in violation of state biometric law, which privacy advocates have lauded as the country’s strongest form of protection in the commercial use of this data.
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TikTok’s parent company ByteDance on Friday agreed to pay $ 92 million in a settlement to U.S. users who are part of a class action lawsuit alleging the video-sharing app failed to obtain their consent to collect data. data in violation of the biometric law. The settlement has yet to be approved by a federal judge.
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“While we disagree with the claims, rather than going through lengthy litigation, we would like to focus our efforts on building a safe and joyful experience for the TikTok community,” TikTok said in a statement. sent by email.
In addition, two Illinois residents filed a July 14 lawsuit against Microsoft, Google and Amazon for violating biometric law.
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Facebook’s lawsuits and settlement come as debates erupt over law enforcement’s use of facial recognition technology without a suspect’s consent. Companies such as Amazon, Microsoft and IBM have stopped police use of their facial recognition tools amid growing concerns about possible racial bias.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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