Question

Facebook is in a $725 million class action lawsuit and users who join the lawsuit will get a part of the settlement.

Comments

This is indeed true because The Washington Post came out claiming that Facebook, which is owned by Meta had to pay a $725 million fee due to claims that they are selling their users' data without their consent. Due to this millions of people had the opportunity to fill out a form and apply for a settlement. This was only valid until Friday, August 25.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/08/23/facebook-settlement-claim-deadline/

Similarly, Forbes claimed that around 17.7 million people filed a complaint against Facebook and how their information was being used and shared without their consent. There were 10 million more complaints but many of them were fraudulent and some were duplicates. Many users got 30 dollars back on behalf of a settlement. So the claim is true as users who joined the lawsuit were able to get part of the settlement.

https://www.forbes.com/advisor/legal/facebook-class-action-lawsuit-settlement/

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I like how you use multiple sources, and go partially into the depth of the lawsuit. .The more people who join the class action the less payout there will be in case of a settlement. Great job!

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Great work on your fact-check @Krithika -- however the lawsuit is now closed. Now one can join it from what I can tell. Wouldn't it be false then? Also, please "answer" the claim rather than "comment" on it it can be upvoted or chosen as the best answer. Thanks!

Answer 1

This is only partially true! The $275 million figure is backed up by several news outlets, including NPR (https://www.npr.org/2023/04/20/1170987739/facebook-settlement-lawsuit-privacy) and, according to the link helpfully provided by the U.S. Courts website, there were a few ways to get involved in the suit, however the time to file a claim and receive a portion of the settlement has passed. The deadline to file a claim was August 25 of 2023, and the other deadlines to opt-out or object to the settlement have also passed. Unfortunately, you won't be able to get any money out of this particular lawsuit (there could always be more in the future, so keep an eye out).

U.S. Court site: https://www.cand.uscourts.gov/notices/facebook-privacy-settlement-information/

link to settlement info: https://www.facebookuserprivacysettlement.com/

Comments

Great job explaining the settlement timeline and giving a clear explanation of the lawsuit/

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Very good - you caught the part about the deadline, making the claim false. Nice work!

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Great job on analyzing multiple sources to support your claim. I also like the way you structured your paragraph where you mentioned the date of the ddl. Your claim is also organized and precise.

Answer 2

This statement is misleading. While, yes, Facebook is facing a $725 million class action lawsuit, it is not official that people will be getting money out if it. The lawsuit stems from Facebook apparently selling users' data without their consent. There was a form people could sign for settlement due to their private information being released, but the parameters, and the people who "will get money" have not been revealed. 

https://www.aarp.org/home-family/personal-technology/info-2023/facebook-settlement-money.html

https://www.cand.uscourts.gov/notices/facebook-privacy-settlement-information/