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A California federal judge approved a $ 650 million settlement in 2015 in a class action lawsuit against Facebook for its use of photo face tagging.
U.S. District Judge James Donato called the settlement a “historic outcome” in a court case Friday, and said “it will put at least $ 345 into the hands of each class member interested in being compensated.”
“Overall, the regulation is a major victory for consumers in the very controversial area of digital privacy,” Donato wrote.
The case centered on Facebook’s “tag suggestions” program, which identifies people’s faces in photos uploaded to the platform for tagging users.
According to information provided in the court file, plaintiffs alleged that the platform was using and storing digital scans of their faces without notice or consent, in violation of Illinois privacy laws.
Attorney Jay Edelson, who originally filed the lawsuit in Illinois in April 2015, told the Chicago Tribune that the settlement was a “big deal.”
“It sends a pretty clear message that in Illinois biometric privacy rights are here to stay,” he said.
Edelson celebrated the settlement on Twitter, writing that it was the “largest cash class privacy lawsuit settlement in history.”
Edelson’s company made no further comment on the settlement.
Facebook told The Associated Press in a statement, “We are pleased to have reached a settlement so that we can overcome this issue, which is in the best interests of our community and our shareholders.”
The Hill reached out to Facebook for comment.
Facebook ended photo tagging suggestions in 2019 and instead switched to a model that allows users to control platform data on their face.
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