Meta agrees to pay $90 million to end privacy lawsuits

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, agreed to pay $90 million to put an end to lawsuits over “disrespect” for the privacy of its users.

The social networking giant was accused of having followed the activities of its users on the internet, even after disconnecting from the platform, to collect data for advertising targeting.

The settlement submitted for approval by a California court on Monday provides for the $90 million to be paid to the plaintiffs who have proven to have been affected by the online tracking. 

Likewise, Meta undertook to isolate and destroy all personal information collected in 2010 and 2011. 

According to the complaint, Facebook used “cookies” (lines of computer code), installed in browsers by Facebook to record visits to other websites. 

For example, the social network knew if a user, even when disconnected from Facebook, consulted other sites when they had “Like” type buttons with a code from the platform.

This functionality was corrected and is not present today, says Meta.

The US group, like its neighbor and competitor Google, is accused of numerous wrongdoings by US, European and other regulators. 

Its use of “cookies”, in particular, is considered problematic with regard to the confidentiality of Internet users.

The two global giants of digital advertising claim to work on alternative technologies to respond to these concerns but also to meet the needs of their clients, the advertisers, in terms of advertising segmentation and on a large scale.

A year ago Facebook had agreed to pay 650 million dollars to put an end to a dispute over the protection of private life that confronted 1.6 million users.

A Chicago attorney had sued the platform in 2015, claiming it had illegally collected biometric data to identify faces. 

Throughout the process, it was learned that Facebook stored this data without the consent of its users, violating Illinois law.

The social network, determined to repair its reputation affected by several scandals, decided last November to give up facial recognition.