This week, a federal judge in California gave final approval to a $90 million privacy settlement granted to Facebook users in a decade-old class action suit. The case, originally filed in 2011, claimed that Facebook tracked the activity of users via a “Like” button installed on countless pages around the web.

The suit also claimed that this tracking violated the Wiretap Act, the Stored Communications Act, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, and several other California laws. However, while the case was filed in California, it consolidated similar complaints from users in 10 other states. Notably, the class includes all Facebook users who visited non-Facebook websites between April 22, 2010, and September 26, 2011, that displayed the Facebook “Like” button. That means that millions of people could potentially benefit from this action. The lead counsels for this privacy class, David Straite and Stephen Grygiel, echoed that point, noting that the suit “benefits all class members whether or not they also submitted a claim for a portion of the $90 million settlement fund.”

While $90 million is just a drop in the bucket for Facebook, it’s a major win for these users who fought so long and hard for their privacy to be respected. Now, because of their work, many more users will get to benefit.

Recommended Resources

Choose what the experts use: award-winning cybersecurity you can trust and rely on.

Surf the web truly incognito. Try Bitdefender Premium VPN, the ultra-fast VPN that keeps your online identity and activities safe from hackers, ISPs and snoops.

System Mechanic 14 – Make your computer run like new. Winner of 200+ Editor’s Choice awards!