In this age of digitalization, online data privacy has turned out to be one of the crucial parameters for internet users. In a move to secure user’s data, federal agencies have started to lay down strict regulations on social media platforms.

Reportedly, Facebook faced allegations for its facial tagging feature which is claimed to have violated user’s privacy rights. To settle this, the company is currently amid plans to pay $550 million to all its users in Illinois.

As per sources, the settlement could offer a couple of hundred dollars to every user who is affected by this issue. This settlement comes after a five-year-old federal lawsuit filed in Illinois which claims the social media company had breached a state law safeguarding citizens’ biometric information. This information includes data from fingerprint, iris and facial scans.

Illinois is known to have one of the sternest biometric privacy laws in the country. The law, which was passed in 2008, mandates companies to acquire prior consent before collecting sensitive information from consumers and specify details like how long the information will be kept and how will they use it. Moreover, the law enables private citizens along with governmental entities, to issue lawsuits on these issues.

As for the Facebook issue, details like how much portion users will receive, how will people be notified or who is eligible to claim this settlement are yet to be released. Additionally, San Francisco’s federal court judge (where the lawsuit was moved) needs to approve this settlement.

Explaining the further intricacies of this matter, Jay Edelson, an attorney whose firm represents a portion of the users, said that they are anticipating a massive number of pleas to be filed. Nonetheless, even after these record-breaking-number lawsuits, they predict that each class member would receive a good amount of money in the end.

Source Credit: https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-facebook-class-action-settlement-20200130-mpp7vvpgvzeehfj4gbvzlwp3yy-story.html