Facebook users: You have less than a month to claim your piece of the $725M settlement
Facebook users have until Aug. 25 to claim their cash from the class-action lawsuit involving Cambridge Analytica.
If you had a Facebook account anytime between May 24, 2007 and Dec. 22, 2022, you're entitled to a portion of the $725 million settlement that Meta (Facebook's parent company) has agreed to pay, although the company admits no wrongdoing. The lawsuit alleges that the company allowed unauthorized user data access to third-parties like Cambridge Analytica. The now defunct data analytics company worked with Donald Trump's campaign to learn voter habits from Facebook users.
Now that the deadline is less than a month away, it's time to act if you want your share in the settlement. If you had a Facebook account during the designated time period, you're automatically eligible, but you have to fill out a form to officially file a claim. You can do this online by going to the settlement website and verifying information related to your account, including your address, phone number, Facebook username, and answering a few questions to verify that you had an account between May 24, 2007 and Dec. 22, 2022.
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You can also submit a claim via snail mail by downloading the claim on the website, filling out a hard copy and mailing it to: Facebook Consumer Privacy User Profile Litigation, c/o Settlement Administrator, 1650 Arch Street, Suite 2210, Philadelphia, PA, 19103. The claim must be submitted online by 11:59 p.m. on Aug. 25, 2023 or postmarked by that date.
When you file the claim, you must also choose how to want to receive your money, which can be via Venmo, PayPal, Zelle, a prepaid Mastercard, or a physical check.
So how much money can you expect to get? The settlement is divided up by how many people submitted a claim and how long you were a user during the timeframe. If you maintained an account the entire time, you're entitled to more money. The final hearing for the settlement is currently Sept. 7, 2023, after which, payments will be distributed "as soon as possible." However, this all depends on whether the hearing remains scheduled on that date and whether or not there are appeals.
Whatever happens, make sure your claim is submitted by Aug. 25, to lock in your Facebook payout.
Cecily is a tech reporter at Mashable who covers AI, Apple, and emerging tech trends. Before getting her master's degree at Columbia Journalism School, she spent several years working with startups and social impact businesses for Unreasonable Group and B Lab. Before that, she co-founded a startup consulting business for emerging entrepreneurial hubs in South America, Europe, and Asia. You can find her on X at @cecily_mauran.
