The class-action suit began after the 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal but eventually added a litany of other alleged Facebook data dealings, alleging that the platform broke the law by enabling third parties to access users' personal content and information without users' authorization. Facebook admitted no wrongdoing by agreeing to the settlement and says it has changed its user privacy practices. [...]
How much will the settlement's individual payouts be? That depends on two things: how many people submit claims and how long a claimant had an account on the platform. The settlement will distribute "points" to claimants for every month they had an account between May 24, 2007, and Dec. 22, 2022, and then split the money (after lawyers' fees of up to 25% and cash for the class representatives) based on those numbers.
These shitheels make you use PayPal or submit banking info to receive your money. No option for a mailed check (suitable for framing).
I look forward to my $1.50 or whatever is left after the bottom-feeding lawyers get their cut.
the option for a check is very small print but is is there
I hope they count my current facebook account as active despite it never following anyone, posting, or doing anything that reveals any more PII than the county I live in.
Someone tells me that there is a fine-print option for getting a check down in there somewhere, but I didn't notice it.
I recently cashed a check for $14.45 from some Apple class action thing and I have no idea what it was for or from when, but it felt nice anyway. IRON BALLS McGINTY!
Seriously, if don't have something physical to shout at afterwards, what's the point?
The 'get a check' link is below all the other payment options in a different style with no bright orange button. It's gray and light blue on white. On my 4k screen it's 17px tall. I'm not surprised at any of these choices. Of course I still clicked it.
I just got my check yesterday for the Capacitor Antitrust Settlement.
$15.85
I got an option for a mailed check, but they hid it in tiny font in the hope nobody would notice it. They have big colorful logos for all the payment options that they want you to use, and then in tiny gray text say "If you prefer to receive a paper check instead of a faster and more convenient option listed above, click this link."
Love when the claim form for the deceptive trade practices lawsuit itself uses deceptive practices.
One might even suspect that an entire shady ecosystem has grown up around the management of class-action payouts. Like twenty generations of crabs living their entire lives atop the corpse of one whale.
(if you're a US resident)
do I have to be a resident of the USA?
It looks like you don't have to be a current resident, but you do need to have been a resident between the dates specified. I don't qualify due to that as I haven't resided in the US for nearly 20 years.
I cashed a whopping $71.86 earlier this year from the Chipotle class-action.
My rule of thumb is the older the demographic affected, the smaller your share of the settlement. Generally I assume older generations are better at email and are more interested in news like this than younger ones, so they're more likely to hear about class-actions in general. My guess is this one won't pay as much.
Interesting, the form lets me select countries. I assumed when I read this that it'll be for US residents only. I wonder if they'll actually bother paying up to anyone claiming outside the US, but no harm in trying, I guess.
I wonder if they'll mail me a check internationally.
The form and the FAQ make it clear this is only for people who resided in the US at the time.
It will be fun to find out. I was living in the US in the timeframe mentioned but have since moved back to my home country.
But I absentmindedly selected PayPal :(
The one time I can't feel smug about not having a facebook account :(
I had to pay a cheque in earlier this week to a society account, it was a weirdly disconcerting experience - going into a bank branch which has been extensively remodelled, trying to use a machine but it turned out that my card which lets me use a 2FA machines for logging on at home won't let me do that, then having to ask the greeter what to do with it.
To file a claim I had to log into my FB account to find out my official user name. There I was confronted by my last post:
I am such a liar.
The form is a wee bit tricky to fill out if you've deleted your account: they ask for the dates you had an account and your official user name, which are pretty much impossible to pin down when you can no longer log in.
And just to clarify, lest I deter anyone with my comment: I just used my best guess on the dates, and left the user name blank. I'd be surprised if they rejected any claims on that basis.
Had the same thought about a paper check - and totally missed the link too. But, my wife hadn't filled her's out, so we'll be at least getting once check, probably for several cents, to frame.