Judge tentatively OKs $725M Facebook settlement: How to apply for a payout

[adrianmonk]

We really need a better system for knowing the authenticity of these settlement web sites.

Right now we get some special web site that's like FooCompanyBarIssueSettlement.com, which is descriptive, but how do we know it's not some phishing site?

The site itself always says it's the official site and gives a case number, but there's nothing stopping a fake site from doing those things.

Right now we have to rely on it being reported in the media[1]. That's better than nothing, but why can't the courts (that approve the settlement) have a web site that links to these? Or, as a condition of the settlement, require the company (Facebook in this case) to link to it?

I know lawyers are good at law, not IT security, and I realize this is how it's typically done, but it's still a very poor practice, and it needs to change.

(In this particular case, it's also ironic because the case is about poor practices regarding data security!)

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[1] And this one has been, including very large news outlets, so I feel pretty confident it's legitimate.

[chias]

Interestingly, some time ago as part of my job I tested this out -- how effective is a fake breach settlement website / notification as a phishing vector? It turns out, to my surprise, not very. You can't harvest anything particularly juicy beyond basic PII without arousing a lot of suspicion, and as far as vectors for harvesting basic PII, more "normal" approaches are a lot more effective.

Outside of very limited circumstances (e.g. when everyone is really angry, Hello Equifax!), the average person is remarkably uninterested in filling out data in return for an unknown amount of money, at some nebulously undefined future date, that is likely to be somewhere between $7 and $0.

[the_only_law]

Something similar happened to me when I went to check the balance on a prepaid visa the other day. I got redirected to a bizzare URL and an ad riddled page. I had to do a couple of takes to make sure I was at the right place.

[sigmar]

I very much agree with this. Gmail seems to put every single class action suit email in my spam folder (probably because the domain that they come from are brand new, so understandable). Then the website always asks for a lot of personal information and sometimes bank routing numbers (!!). Maybe there could be subdomains on state gov't websites that are allocated for class action suits (tho that might still trigger spam detection)?

[achow]

FB users in USA: ~250M, if half of them end up claiming then its $6/person (before expenses, lawyer fees etc.)

In these kind of cases, only lawyers make a windfall.

[Xeoncross]

Class-action lawsuits are a way to punish some entity, but not provide any meaningful restitution to victims. They just provide a way for law firms to reap the rewards of the victims abuse. The victims are even required to give up their rights to sue in exchange for the $0.05 - $5.

It's really messed up.

[azemetre]

These kinds of cases are the only way for consumers to punish corporations, what else would you have them realistically do?

[reaperducer]

In these kind of cases, only lawyers make a windfall.

While mostly true, I've made four figures over the last five years from these kinds of lawsuit settlements. All of them from cases of companies either violating my privacy rights, or data breaches.

I've made hundreds of dollars from Facebook alone.

[rqtwteye]

"In these kind of cases, only lawyers make a windfall."

I am starting to think this is by design. Congress is full of lawyers and they probably make laws for lawyers. If I were in charge I probably would make laws that benefit engineers.

[walrus01]

people who got checks from the equifax data breach also got about $6 or $7 each person.

[karaterobot]

> That means a lot of people are eligible — Facebook reports 2 billion users globally, including about 200 million in the United States and Canada.

> Only U.S. users are eligible for a payment.

So, less than 200 million, for the record. But, that does not change the substance of your point.

[rahimnathwani]

The theory is that the threat of a class action lawsuit keeps us all safer than we otherwise would be. So we benefit from all the class action lawsuits that didn't happen because companies complied with the law.

[jononomo]

Suppose only 800,000 Facebook users end up claiming. How much would each person get then?

[blakesterz]

The site to submit claims ( https://www.facebookuserprivacysettlement.com/ ) is showing "connect.facebook.net" being blocked by Privacy Badger in my browser.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised?

[gbolcer]

This seems like an elaborate scam. I never eliminated my facebook account, but I definitely stopped using them. I think the Cambridge Analytica abuse is the least of their privacy abuses.

[miked85]

What part of it do you believe is a scam? Seems like a standard class action suit where I might get a few dollars five years from now.

[moi2388]

Can anybody explain to me why stealing my data and illegally getting paid for sharing it with third parties means they only have to pay me $6?

Or why fines never include at least the profit (let alone income) from illegal activities PLUS a fine?

[faefox]

Because if companies that behaved badly were actually held accountable our economic system would collapse, and the people in power who benefit from it won't allow that to happen.

[svachalek]

There’s only so hard you can slap a wrist, or it starts to hurt or something.

[theonemind]

I think you can decline the $6 and start your own personal lawsuit for the same issue. But, IANAL.

[Magi604]

>Only U.S. users are eligible for a payment.

This is so unfair, I want my $1-$5 damnit!

[admn2]

There was one settlement in Illinois, I think it was Facebook as well, where each person who filled it out got $395.

[mittermayr]

I have submitted my data, but while doing so, I wondered if I trust these guys any more with the data. This ends up as a CSV on some lawyer's laptop Downloads folder eventually.

[meepmorp]

Then there’s another class action suit against the law firm, and so on. It’s lawyers all the way down.

[exabrial]

725M is a rounding error. This should be every penny of revenue generated on the illegal use of data, regardless of their expense.

You don't get to rob a bank and settle for less than you took.

[Scoundreller]

> You are included in this Settlement as a Settlement Class Member if you were a Facebook user in the United States between May 24, 2007, and December 22, 2022, inclusive.

If I don’t live in USA, but used Facebook on US soil, am I eligible?

Sounds like yes?

The form itself says:

> Did you reside in the United States at any time between May 24, 2007 and December 22, 2022, inclusive?

If I stayed a night, that’s “any time”???

[acjacobson]

IANAL - but reside generally means you established a residence there as opposed to just visited.

[jononomo]

The settlement form tells me I can find my username at: "Account” > “Settings and Privacy” > “General Account Settings” > “Username.”

But I don't see something called "General Account Settings" after I go to "Account > "Settings and Privacy".

I looked around, and I couldn't find my username anywhere.

[exabrial]

I can't wait for my share of the 50cents allocated to us from the generous lawyers

[tzs]

If you wanted more why didn't you sue Facebook yourself?

[jmclnx]

So, if I apply for this, Facebook will know my real name and address. I have not used it for years. But I think it is worth the $5 USD I will get to keep that information out of Facebook's hand.

[elil17]

The settlement administrator is different from Facebook.

[kyawzazaw]

Keeps getting

"System Currently Unavailable We apologize for the inconvenience, but the system is currently unavailable. Please try again later. Thank you."

[tmaly]

I want my two dollars!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdF_Vo4B6Ms

[evolve2k]

Screw people globally but in the end only required to compensate US residents. Sounds like a good deal for Meta/Facebook.

[jeroenhd]

It's an American lawsuit against an American company under American law. Of course that doesn't apply abroad.

Anyone can try filing a similar lawsuit in their local jurisdiction, but there's no guarantee that you'll win if your country's laws are different.

[elil17]

This does not prevent them from being sued or fined in other countries. Probably just the first of many such cases around the world.

[beavis000]

But the page title has a blue checkmark next to it!

[SV_BubbleTime]

>the most famous being Cambridge Analytica, a consulting firm that supported Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

Did this read strange to anyone else? Did Trump really break people’s brains like this?

[yamtaddle]

It doesn't read weird at all. The CA incident had a ton of stories about it, that's brought in so the reader goes "oh, that stuff" and knows WTF the piece is about. It's the only case of this happening that more than a very, very small proportion of readers would be aware of.

[kid64]

Ah, a visitor from the upside-down! Welcome, comrade. Please don't shoot me!

[d23]

What about it is brain broken or incorrect?