Facebook Users Can Apply for Their Slice of Meta’s $725M Settlement

Facebook Users Can Apply for Their Slice of Meta’s $725M Settlement

(NewsReady.com) – Facebook’s parent company, Meta, is finally paying for the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Those whose data was compromised in the incident are eligible for payment.

In December 2022, Meta agreed to pay $725 million for a massive data breach. In 2018, it was revealed that Cambridge Analytica paid a Facebook app developer for access to the personal information of about 87 million users. Steve Bannon, who served on former President Donald Trump’s campaign, was the vice president of the data firm at the time. He reportedly oversaw the collection of the data.

After receiving the data, Cambridge Analytica used it to target American voters in the 2016 election for Trump’s campaign. When news broke of the scandal years later, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg faced severe backlash from the public and US lawmakers.

The website for Facebook users to claim their piece of the settlement is now up and running. Users will have until August 25 to either apply online or mail a form.

Anyone who was in the US and had a Facebook account between May 24, 2007, and December 22, 2022, is eligible to receive a payment, even if they deleted their account. In order to receive the money, users are asked to submit their name, address, and phone number.

Applicants must also submit their Facebook username. If you are unsure of what your username is, the easiest way to find it is by looking at the URL in the top bar when you are on your account on a desktop or in a browser. Your username is at the end of the link, for example:

  • https://www.facebook.com/thisisyourusername

The video below explains other ways to find your username.

When applying for the payout, you will also have to choose a way to receive the money. The options are:

  • Zelle
  • PayPal
  • A prepaid MasterCard
  • Direct deposit
  • Venmo

It’s not clear when the money will be sent out or how much everyone will receive. Since there are so many users in the US, it’s likely it will be a paltry sum.

Apply for your payment HERE.

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