Facebook reached a $51 million settlement with class members in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Newfoundland and Labrador who alleged that the company had used their names and portraits in Sponsored Stories advertisements without their consent. The settlement is subject to Court approval, and class members have until March 11, 2024 to object.
The Privacy Acts of the above territories all prohibit the use of an individual’s personal information without their consent. In general, consent must be informed, freely given, specific, and unambiguous. The Privacy Acts also require that individuals be given the opportunity to opt out of the use of their personal information for certain purposes.
Facebook’s Sponsored Stories advertisements were targeted to users’ friends, and they displayed the user’s name and portrait without their consent. In some cases, the advertisements also displayed the user’s activities on Facebook, such as their likes and interests.
The plaintiff in the Facebook Sponsored Stories class action lawsuit alleged that Facebook’s use of users’ personal information in Sponsored Stories advertisements violated the Privacy Acts. The plaintiff sought to recover damages for class members for Facebook’s alleged breach of the Privacy Acts. Compensation was sought without proof of individual loss.
The proposed settlement provides that Facebook will pay the all-inclusive sum of $51 million (fifty-one million dollars) in exchange for a full and final release by the class of all claims in issue in the class action against Facebook.
The settlement provides a quick and relatively inexpensive resolution to the lawsuit and will provide class members with some financial compensation for their alleged harm. The settlement will serve to increase awareness of the importance of privacy protection and may act as a potential deterrent of future privacy violations by Facebook and other companies.
Notwithstanding, commentators have criticized the settlement for its lack of individualized damages, potential for underrepresentation of class members’ interests and limitation of potential recovery to the settlement fund. The settlement additionally does not require Facebook to admit any wrongdoing nor does not require Facebook to change its policies regarding the use of personal information in Sponsored Stories advertisements.
The Facebook Sponsored Stories class action settlement is just one example of the growing number of cases in which companies are being sued for using personal information in ways that violate privacy laws. As technology continues to evolve, it is likely that we will see even more cases of this type in the future.
To protect privacy in the digital age, it is important for companies to adopt clear and transparent privacy policies and to obtain informed consent from users before using their personal information. It is also important for governments to enact and enforce strong privacy laws.