Facebook users in Illinois may be entitled to at least $ 345 each after a federal judge approved a $ 650 million deal in a lawsuit over Facebook’s photo tagging technology dating back to 2015.
The social media giant initially agreed to pay the record deal in July 2020, following an Illinois class action against the company’s facial recognition technology, which violated the state’s biometric privacy law, allowing residents to claim up to $ 5,000 if companies use the technology for data without user consent.
“In any measure, the $ 650 million settlement in this biometric privacy class action is a historic result. It is one of the largest privacy breach agreements and will place at least $ 345 in the hands of every class member interested in being compensated. “, Said US District Judge James Donato, in a court case on Friday.
Illinois is the only state with a law that allows people to claim monetary damages for this unauthorized data collection.
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Lawyer Jay Edelson celebrated approval of the deal in a tweet on Friday.
“One of the main conclusions is the Court’s focus on innovative notifications and the guarantee of unprecedented claim rates,” he said. “Agreements need to be measured based on the amount of money that goes to class members. If no one is participating, that is a problem. The Court’s approach has set a new benchmark.”
Facebook used automatic photo recognition technology as of 2015, so when users uploaded photos of other users, the platform’s photo tagging tool immediately showed name suggestions in an effort to make the tagging process easier. . The tech giant updated its facial recognition policies in September 2019 to require user consent.
The company had originally agreed to close the case for a record $ 550 million in January 2020, but Donato said it was not enough under Illinois law, according to NPR.
“It’s $ 550 million. That’s a lot. But the question is, is it really a lot?” Donato asked during a June 4 hearing, according to NPR, adding: “They are taking what is effectively a discount of 98.75 percent from the amount that the Illinois legislature said could be due in this case, if you to prove your case. “
By signing a $ 650 million deal, claimants can expect to receive between “at least $ 345,” according to Donato’s latest request.
Other tech giants have been criticized in Illinois for using facial recognition technology without user consent, in violation of state biometric law, which privacy advocates have praised as the country’s strongest form of protection for commercial use of such data. .
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TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, agreed on Friday to pay $ 92 million in a settlement for US users who are part of a class action claiming that the video-sharing application failed to obtain their consent to collect data on violation of biometric law. The deal has yet to be approved by a federal judge.
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“While we disagree with the claims, instead of going through a lengthy dispute, we would like to focus our efforts on building a safe and joyful experience for the TikTok community,” said TikTok in an e-mailed statement.
In addition, two Illinois residents filed lawsuits on July 14 against Microsoft, Google and Amazon for violating biometric law.
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Lawsuits and Facebook’s settlement come at a time when debates ignite the use of facial recognition technology by law enforcement authorities without the suspect’s consent. Companies like Amazon, Microsoft and IBM have stopped using their facial recognition tools by the police amid growing concerns about potential racial prejudice.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.