Chicago lawyer Jay Edelson said nearly 1.4 million Illinois Facebook users only have until Monday, November 23, to get their share of the $650 million class-action settlement over alleged biometric privacy law violations.
How to claim for the $650 million Facebook settlement in Illinois?
Attorney Edelson said Facebook users can file their claim for around $400 each through a newly-created website for the class action settlement.
To qualify for the claim, Facebook users had to be living in Illinois for six months or more before the court approved the final settlement on August 19. According to court records as noted in the Facebook Biometric Information Privacy class action website, "Facebook users located in Illinois for whom Facebook created and stored a face template after June 7, 2011."
Those who are eligible class members can simply visit the website, complete a claim form, and file it on or before the deadline on November 23 to get a payment as part of the settlement. Claimants will be asked for some information such as the e-mail address or mobile phone number connected to a Facebook account.
They would also need to enter their name, address, e-mail address, contact number, and how they want to receive the payment. Settlement payments can be sent in check form, via Paypal and Zelle, or through direct deposit, in which claimants would need to also provide their bank account details.
Once submitted, claimants can wait for the payout from $200 to $400 per person, which may depend on the total number of valid claims received. The $650 million Settlement Fund will also cover lawyers' fees, taxes, awards to Facebook users who helped during the lawsuit, and the costs of public notifications about the Settlement.
Also, Facebook has agreed to tweak its facial recognition default setting to "off" and delete all face templates for class members, unless the users switched the feature back "on" and give the company expressed consent.
Meanwhile, those who do not want to be part of the class action settlement may send a written request to be excluded on or before the November 23 deadline. While they will not get any share or other benefits from the settlement, they can sue Facebook for the same legal issues on their own.
Similarly, those who want to express their opinions regarding the settlement must write requests to speak before the Court and should be received by the court not later than November 23. Failure to make an action will remove their eligibility to receive any money and they will also lose their rights to sue Facebook for similar cases.
What is the Illinois Facebook Biometric Information Privacy class action suit?
The Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act is one of the strictest privacy laws across the U.S., which has triggered numerous privacy lawsuits. The law requires companies to obtain permission before using technologies to identify customers such as the facial recognition.
In April 2015, Chicago-based lawyer Edelson filed the initial case against the social media network on behalf of plaintiff Carlo Licata in Cook County Circuit Court. The lawsuit alleged Facebook for using its facial tagging features without user consent, which was against the Illinois privacy law. The case was later transferred to Chicago's federal court before it was moved to California federal court where it obtained a class action status.
Earlier in January, Facebook has agreed to make a settlement for $550 million, but U.S. District Judge James Donato declined the initial approval request. After further negotiations, Facebook increased the amount to $650 million, which the court approved in August.
Atty. Edelson said this settlement may serve a warning to companies that uses of biometric technologies without the person's consent. "This is a total game-changer when it comes to privacy rights, biometric rights," said Edelson adding that biometric privacy as well as geolocation privacy will be the huge battleground in the next five years.
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Written by CJ Robles
