Facebook Internet Tracking Settlement Is Legit — Claim Deadline Approaching

If you used Facebook in 2010 and 2011, you might have received an email claiming you’re entitled to some money in an internet tracking settlement. Is the Facebook internet tracking settlement legit?

Yes, the settlement is legit. In fact, Facebook has agreed to a couple million settlements in lawsuits that accuse the social media site of illegally tracking users.

In February, Facebook’s parent company Meta Platforms Inc. agreed to a $90 million settlement in a California lawsuit that accused the social media platform of tracking users' internet activity back in 2010 and 2011.

The class action lawsuit claims that Facebook violated federal wiretap, privacy, and communications laws when it collected data from and tracked users who visited non-Facebook websites with Facebook “Like” buttons between April 22, 2010, and September 26, 2011. Facebook is accused of tracking users even after they had logged out of the social media site.

The 2011 lawsuit was initially dismissed in 2017, but then revived in April 2020 when a U.S. Court of Appeals ruled the social media site profited unjustly and violated user privacy by selling their data, Reuters reports.

Although Facebook denies any wrongdoing, it agreed to a settlement after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear its appeal in the case.

“Reaching a settlement in this case, which is more than a decade old, is in the best interest of our community and our shareholders, and we’re glad to move past this issue,” Meta spokesperson Drew Pusateri said in a statement to CNN Business and other media outlets.

To qualify for compensation under the settlement, you must have been a Facebook user between April 22, 2010, and September 26, 2011, who visited non-Facebook websites that displayed the Facebook Like button.

You'll have to act fast if you're eligible for compensation in the settlement. The deadline to file a claim is September 22, 2022. Many eligible Facebook users received an emailed notice from the claims administrator, Angeion. The emails contain a Notice ID and Confirmation Code you must enter on the claims site to participate.

If you think you're eligible but didn’t receive a personalized notice, you can still file a claim on the claims site. You must enter all the usernames or URLs for the Facebook accounts you used between the settlement dates.

Last week, Facebook parent company Meta Platforms Inc. agreed to a $37.5 settlement in another California lawsuit claiming the social media platform continued to track users' location even after turning location services off. According to Bloomberg Law, the settlement covers about 70 million U.S. residents who used Facebook between January 30, 2015, and April 18, 2018.

This settlement still needs final approval from a federal judge before a claims website will be set up. Once approved, anyone who has had a Facebook account since January 30, 2015, is eligible to file a claim.