Privacy violation: Facebook pays $650 million to users

Facebook collects the biometric data of millions of users in the USA - without them knowing about it. The company is accused of violating privacy laws. The platform has now reached a record settlement in court.

To settle a lawsuit over the violation of the privacy of 1.6 million users in the U.S., the Internet group Facebook pays 650 million dollars (538 million euros) compensation. According to documents seen by the AFP news agency, a federal court approved the agreement between Facebook and 1.6 million of its users in the state of Illinois.

The Chicago district attorney's office had charged Facebook in 2015 with collecting biometric data for facial recognition, which was done without users' knowledge. It argued that the California-based Internet giant's actions violated a privacy law passed in Illinois in 2008. After Facebook failed with its motion to dismiss the case, the company had agreed in January 2020 to pay $550 million to settle the lawsuit.

However, Judge James Donato rejected the sum as insufficient. Donato called the compensation amount now agreed upon "one of the highest settlements ever for privacy violations." He said it was a major victory for consumers "in the hotly contested area of digital privacy." Each affected user will receive at least $345 in compensation, he said. Facebook could not initially be reached for comment.

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