A US federal judge approved a $ 650 million payment Facebook To end a privacy conflict with 1.6 million Illinois users.
According to documents accessed on Sunday by the news agency AFP, the decision was taken last Friday (26).
Chicago lawyer Jay Adelson sued in 2015, claiming that Facebook Illegal biometric data collected for facial recognition, A violation of Illinois privacy law.
In January 2020, the company Agreed to pay $ 550 million, Which became a class action in 2018, after an unsuccessful attempt to settle the dispute. Months later, in July, the judge in the case, James Donato, ruled that the amount was insufficient.
During testing, it was proved that Facebook stored users’ biometric data (their facial digital scanners) without their consent. In 2019, the social network proposed that the facial recognition function be optional.
For Donato, the decision is historic and “represents a significant victory for consumers in the controversial realm of digital privacy. It is one of the largest agreements ever to close privacy violations”, he commented. Having said that every applicant will receive. At least US $ 345 in compensation concept.
In 2019, Facebook also paid Record $ 5 billion fine To end a US government investigation into its privacy practices.