How to memorialize a Facebook account
Here’s how to memorialize a deceased loved one or delete your social media accounts.
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Facebook’s class action lawsuit settlement means some users will receive a second round of bonus payments after the first round of checks was issued last year.
In May, a California court approved a second round of payments in a $725 million settlement over allegations that Facebook misused user data, according to a settlement website and court filings.
The first payments were made late last year, but about $100 million still remains in the fund, according to court filings.
The settlement, reached in 2023, stems from multiple lawsuits against Facebook alleging that the company allowed third parties to access user data without permission.
Facebook’s parent company, Meta, denied wrongdoing in the case but agreed to the settlement to avoid a trial, according to the settlement website.
Here’s what you need to know about the second bonus payment.
Who is eligible to receive a second payment with Facebook Payments? Can I still sign up?
According to the payment site, only those who received and cashed out the first payment are eligible to receive the second payment in the settlement.
Any U.S. resident who used Facebook between May 24, 2007 and December 22, 2022 was eligible for the settlement. In order to receive payment, affected users had until August 25, 2023 to file a lawsuit.
If a user is eligible but does not apply by the deadline, they will not receive a payment in the second wave because they did not receive a payment in the first wave.
When will my Facebook payments be paid?
The settlement administrator will make bonus payments over the next four weeks starting June 9, according to the website.
Those eligible for the second payment will be notified via email 3-4 days before the payment is made.
How much is the second payment with Facebook payments?
Settlement administrators estimate more than 15 million people will receive a second round of payments, according to court filings. After deducting management fees from the remaining $100 million pot, that leaves about $95 million for bonus payments.
The total amount each eligible claimant will receive in their second bonus payment will depend on what the application documents call “allocation points,” but the Administrator estimates it will range from $4.67 to $7.32 each.
“Allocation Points” are the number of months a User was on Facebook during the Qualification Period. This means that someone who used Facebook for 24 months, or 2 years, from May 24, 2007 to December 22, 2022, would have 24 “allocation points.”
What is the Facebook settlement about?
The lawsuit that was settled was brought in the wake of the 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal. The marketing company, which has since been shut down, was accused of improperly harvesting and sharing Facebook users’ information to target voters in the 2016 presidential election.
Specifically, the lawsuit alleges that Facebook shared user data without consent with third parties, including app developers, business partners, advertisers and data brokers, and then failed to monitor how the data was used.
Those cases were consolidated into a single complaint in 2018, followed by years of litigation. In December 2022, Facebook’s parent company Meta and the plaintiffs agreed to settle the lawsuit.
Mr. Mehta denied the charges in the lawsuit, but moved to settle the case to resolve it, according to court documents.
Melina Khan is USA TODAY’s national trends reporter. X Keep up with her at @melinakh and on Instagram @bymelinakhan.
