The long wait is over for millions of Facebook users as payments from the landmark $725 million privacy settlement finally begin to be disbursed. The settlement, which resolves a class-action lawsuit against Meta over the Cambridge Analytica scandal, comes more than two years after its initial approval.
In a statement on its homepage, Angeion, the company managing the settlement, confirmed that "the distribution of settlement benefits has commenced and will continue for approximately 10 weeks."
The lawsuit, which stemmed from revelations in 2018, alleged that Facebook had allowed the personal data of up to 87 million users to be improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica. The political consulting firm then used the data to target U.S. voters during the 2016 presidential campaign. The scandal led to public outrage, congressional hearings, and widespread calls for users to delete their accounts.
For those who filed a claim, the payments are expected to be sent out in weekly batches throughout September and October. The settlement website states,
"If your claim is approved, a notification will be sent to your email 3-4 days before your payment is issued."
