Up To 300,000 Australian Facebook Users To Receive Potential Payouts From Cambridge Analytica Settlement
Hundreds of thousands of Australian Facebook users who had their data harvested as a result of the Cambridge Analytica scandal could be compensated after Meta agreed to a $50 million settlement with Australia’s privacy regulator, according to reports.
The settlement announcement was made by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) last week. It’s been a four-year legal battle against Meta, as well as two years since a $725 million legal settlement was made in the US.
“[The new settlement represented] the largest ever payment dedicated to addressing concerns about the privacy of individuals in Australia,” said Elizabeth Tydd, The Australian information commissioner.
“It represents a substantive resolution of privacy concerns raised by the Cambridge Analytica matter; gives potentially affected Australians an opportunity to seek redress through Meta’s payment program; and brings to an end a lengthy court process,” Tydd said.
Back in 2018, the Observer published an article that exposed Cambridge Analytica, a data analysis company, for harvesting millions of Facebook profiles to assist the campaign of Donald Trump and the pro-Brexit campaign in the UK.
The company collected the data through a personality quiz. They collected information from the users who took the quiz as well as the information about their friends on Facebook. In 2020, the OAIC launched legal action in Australia alleging a breach of privacy of Australian users.
Court documents stated that there’s an estimated 53 people in Australia that installed the quiz app through Facebook. The app was called ‘This is Your Digital Life.’ Since the app also collected data from users’ friends, an estimated 311,127 individuals were affected.
Meta agreed to set up a payment scheme run by a third-party administrator from early next year. Individuals who will be eligible for compensation need to have had a Facebook account between November 2013 and December 2015. They also would’ve had to be present in Australia for more than 30 days throughout that time period and either had the quiz app or were friends with someone who did.
“We settled as it is in the best interest of our community and shareholders that we close this chapter on allegations that relate to past practices no longer relevant to how Meta’s products or systems work today,” the spokesperson for Meta said.
“We look forward to continuing to build services Australians love and trust with privacy at the forefront.”
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
