Facebook users in Illinois can be entitled to at least $ 345 each after a federal judge approved a $ 650 million settlement in a lawsuit over Facebook’s photo brand technology dating back to 2015.
The social media giant initially agreed to pay the record settlement in July 2020 after a lawsuit in Illinois against the company’s use of face recognition technology, which violates the Biometric Privacy Act, which allows residents to pay as much as $ 5,000 as companies claim the technology for data without the consent of the user.
“In any case, the $ 650 million settlement in this biometric privacy class action is a major outcome. It is the largest settlement ever for a privacy violation, and it will put at least $ 345 in the hands of every class member interested in compensation. “U.S. District Judge James Donato said in a Friday application.
Illinois is the only state with a law that allows people to claim monetary damages for such unauthorized data collection.
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Attorney Jay Edelson approved the settlement in a Friday tweet.
“One of the most important take-aways is the court’s laser focus on innovative notification and the insurance of unprecedented claims,” he said. “Settlements need to be measured by how much money goes to classmates. If no one is participating, it’s a problem. The court’s approach has set a new standard.”
Facebook uses automated photo recognition technology that started in 2015. When users upload photos depicting other users, the platform’s photo tagging tool will immediately display name suggestions in an effort to facilitate the tagging process. The technology giant updated its face recognition policy in September 2019 to require user permission.
The company originally agreed to settle the case in January 2020 for a record $ 550 million, but according to NPR, Donato said it was not enough under Illinois law.
“It’s $ 550 million. It’s a lot. But the question is, is it really a lot?” According to NPR, during a hearing on June 4, Donato asked, “They are taking a 98.75 percent discount on the amount that the Illinois legislature would owe in this case if you proved your case.”
By settling with $ 650 million, according to Donato’s latest application, plaintiffs can expect to receive between ‘at least $ 345’.
Other technology giants have come under fire in Illinois for their use of face recognition technology without the consent of users in violation of the state’s biometric law, which praised proponents of privacy as the country’s strongest form of protection in the commercial use of such data.
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TikTok parent company ByteDance on Friday agreed to pay $ 92 million in a settlement to U.S. users involved in a class action lawsuit alleging that the video sharing app did not obtain their permission to collect data in violation with the biometric law. The settlement must still be approved by a federal judge.
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“While we do not agree with the allegations, rather than pursuing long-standing lawsuits, we want to focus our efforts on building a safe and joyful experience for the TikTok community,” TikTok said in an email.
Furthermore, on July 14, two Illinois residents filed a lawsuit against Microsoft, Google and Amazon for violating the biometric law.
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The lawsuits and the settlement of Facebook come as a result of debates against the use of facial recognition technology by law enforcement without the consent of a suspect. Companies, including Amazon, Microsoft and IBM, have stopped police use of their facial recognition tools amid growing concerns about possible racial prejudice.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.