Facebook compensates $650 million for use of facial recognition data without consent
Facebook compensates $650 million for use of facial recognition data without consent
A federal judge approved a settlement agreement, Facebook will pay 650 million U.S. dollars to users suing the social media company's hashtag feature.
United States Northern District of California Judge James Donato (James Donato) said in Friday's judgment that this is one of the largest privacy lawsuit settlement agreements in history and is a "milestone result."
The lawsuit stated that approximately 1.6 million people involved in the lawsuit will each receive at least US$345 in compensation.
Judge Donato wrote: "Overall, the settlement agreement is a major victory for consumers in the highly competitive digital privacy field."
This class action was first filed in Illinois in 2015.
Facebook users claim that the company violated the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act, which prohibits private entities from collecting, storing, or using biometric identification or information without prior notice and written consent.
The lawsuit alleges that Facebook started to create and store face templates for users in Illinois in June 2011 as part of its function to promote tags or identify individuals in photos.
The social media giant argued that the company has been disclosing its facial recognition technology. The company also said that users can choose to close it.
Facebook initially tried to settle the Illinois lawsuit for $550 million, but the judge presiding over the case rejected the proposal.
