Settlement Could Mean $300 for Ill. Facebook Users

The class-action lawsuit alleges the social media site's facial-tagging feature violates state privacy law.

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AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File

CHICAGO (AP) โ€” Some Illinois Facebook users could receive as much as $300 from a $550 million settlement in a class-action suit alleging the social media site's facial-tagging feature violated state privacy law.

But there's no timeline yet for when people will be notified of eligibility or when payments could be issued, the Chicago Tribune reported.

A federal judge in California still must approve the details.

The next hearing in the case is June 4 but could be delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.

Illinois law permits people to sue companies that donโ€™t get consent before collecting consumersโ€™ data. Attorneys that sued Facebook in 2015 alleged that the companyโ€™s photo tagging feature was powered by facial recognition data used to create and store โ€œface templates.โ€

โ€œAs we explained in January, we decided to pursue a settlement as it was in the best interest of our community and our shareholders to move past this matter,โ€ Facebook spokeswoman Dina El-Kassaby said in a statement.

According to court records, class members could receive between $150 and $300, but the payout per person will depend on how many total users make a complete claim.

Members of the class will be notified by email and via Facebook, according to court records.

The settlement was reached in January.

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