Facebook parent company Meta has reached a $90 million settlement in a case that's been ongoing since 2012.
The legal fight was caused by Facebook's use of cookies and a proprietary browser plug-in in 2010 and 2011 to track users after they had completely logged off the social network. Although users had to agree to being tracked while they were logged into Facebook, that tracking was supposed to end upon logout, according to the end-user licensing agreement. It did not.
Per Variety, the settlement to the privacy-focused suit is now being considered by the US District Court for the Northern District of California, which will need to approve the agreement.
The case has been simmering for nearly a decade thanks to a series of appeals from both sides, with Facebook having won out in several previous hearings. However, in 2020, the 9th Circuit Court ruled against the social network. This decision, followed by the US Supreme Court declining to hear the case, likely prompted its decision to finally settle the matter.
As Variety notes, this settlement, if approved, would be one of the 10 largest penalties ever paid in the US for violating user privacy.
www.zdnet.com
