EAST LONGMEADOW, MA (WGGB/WSHM) – Many Facebook users around the world are eligible for money after the social media platform’s owner, Meta, settled a privacy-related lawsuit.
$725 million are up for grabs and impacts millions of Facebook users everywhere.
“I never trust it. I never trust Facebook or a lot of these big tech corporations, Google, Apple as well. I don’t trust it at all and I feel like it safer to not trust it,” said Facebook user Caleb Slocumb.
LEARN MORE: Facebook privacy settlement
That mistrust of the world’s largest social media platform is only growing, but this time, Facebook users with active accounts between May 24, 2007 and December 22, 2022 are eligible for a cash payout from parent company Meta’s class-action lawsuit settlement related to accusations that Cambridge Analytica and other third-party firms had access to users’ private information without their permission.
“I saw some congressional hearings and lots of other things with Mark Zuckerburg and I’ve decided I don’t want to invest a lot of trust in him,” said Facebook user Kyle Raglan. “I don’t want to put myself at that kind of risk.”
Where do users go from here and how can they ensure their data is safe?
“Everything you do creates a digital footprint. That’s the most piece of information people need to know,” said Stan Prager, owner of Go Geeks in East Longmeadow.
Prager told Western Mass News that with every ‘Like’ on Facebook, every retweet on X, and story share on Instagram, you’re giving data and advertising firms an idea of who you are. If you want to stop that from happening, Prager said lock that account down.
“You can work on the privacy settings, so that the only thing that’s visible to people that aren’t your friends on Facebook is your profile picture and your name,” Prager explained. “…and that will certainly limit your exposure to bad users out there”
Even with this lawsuit settlement, users may be cashing in, but they are not buying that their information will be safer.
“I removed a bunch of pictures, a bunch of personal details, and I don’t use Facebook very much at all on my computer and I don’t put the app on my phone,” Raglan said.
You still have time to claim your portion of that settlement. The deadline to submit your application is August 25. You can CLICK HERE for more information.
Copyright 2023. Western Mass News (WGGB/WSHM). All rights reserved.
