Facebook owner Meta Platforms is defending a $725 million privacy settlement in a U.S. appeals court. The settlement was made with users who accused the company of breaching their privacy rights. Meta and the attorneys who negotiated the deal argued that it is fair and reasonable. They have asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco to reject challenges questioning the settlement’s adequacy.
The settlement resolves claims that Facebook allowed the political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica and other third parties to access users’ personal data, violating privacy protections. Meta has denied any wrongdoing but agreed to the settlement.
In 2023, a lower court judge approved the settlement. However, some users objected, arguing that Facebook should pay a larger amount and that the $181 million fee for the plaintiffs’ lawyers was too high.
At the hearing, Derek Loeser, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, emphasized that U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria carefully reviewed the settlement after extensive litigation. Loeser explained that the judge didn’t give an easy pass to anyone involved.
Loeser also responded to questions from the appeals court panel. He defended the $181 million attorney fee, stating it represented 25% of the settlement. He added that the judge found the fee reasonable given the outcome of the case.
The lawsuit stemmed from revelations in 2018 that Cambridge Analytica had access to data from as many as 87 million Facebook users. The $725 million settlement is the largest data-privacy recovery in history, according to the plaintiffs’ lawyers.
In addition to this settlement, Facebook paid $5 billion to the Federal Trade Commission in 2019 to resolve a separate investigation into its privacy practices.
The case is Sarah Feldman v. Facebook, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 23-3550.