Last Monday night, a proposed preliminary settlement was filed with the United States District Court in San Jose, California, and must be approved by a judge. The agreement also requires Facebook to delete any improperly collected data.
Users accused the Meta Platforms Inc unit of violating federal and state privacy and wiretapping laws by using plug-ins to store cookies that tracked when they visited websites containing Facebook "like" buttons that did not contain Facebook "like" buttons.
Following that, Facebook allegedly compiled users' browsing histories into profiles that it then sold to advertisers.
The case was dismissed in June 2017, but it was reopened in April 2020 by a federal appeals court, which stated that users could try to prove that the Menlo Park, California-based company profited unfairly and violated their privacy.
Facebook's subsequent attempt to persuade the United States Supreme Court to hear the case was unsuccessful.
According to settlement papers, the company denied wrongdoing but settled to avoid the costs and risks of a trial.
In an email, Meta spokesman Drew Pusateri said that settling "is in the best interests of our community and our shareholders, and we're glad to move past this issue."
The settlement applies to Facebook users in the United States who visited non-Facebook websites that displayed Facebook's "like" button between April 22, 2010 and September 26, 2011.
Plaintiffs' attorneys intend to seek legal fees of up to $26.1 million, or 29 percent, of the settlement fund. The lawsuit was filed in February of 2012.
Other privacy complaints have been lodged against Facebook.
In July 2019, it agreed to strengthen privacy safeguards as part of a settlement with the US Federal Trade Commission that included a $5 billion fine.
Texas' attorney general filed a lawsuit against Meta on Monday, alleging that it collected facial recognition data without users' permission.