Illinois Facebook Users Can Apply For $400 Lawsuit Payout

Your cut of the action is part of a massive $650 million class action settlement over a state privacy law involving Facebook and its collecting of images and information.

In the interests of full disclosure, I must confess to not being a Facebook guy. I'm not anti-social media (although at times, I do find it to be a very disheartening place), as I have a Twitter account (@wrok_riley) and sometimes act as the administrator of my dog Buddy's Instagram account. It's just that Facebook has never held an appeal for me.

And, because of that, I'm not going to get any money from this settlement. But you might.

The legal dispute dates back to 2015, when Facebook’s "tag suggestions" were allegedly collecting and scanning users’ faces without prior notice or consent. Illinois state law prohibits collection of any biometric data, including facial images, without consent. And, it appears, there wasn't any consent.

So, who meets the qualification level to get in on the payout?

Facebook users located in Illinois (and who've lived in Illinois for at  least 6 months) who have created and stored a "face template" between June 7th of 2011 and August 19th of 2020.

Although it's not been made clear when that money will be payed out, claimants could receive payouts between $200 and $400 from the fund. That amount could vary based on the number of valid claims filed before the deadline of November 23rd, 2020.

The law firms behind the suit have set up a website where users can see if they are eligible for payments, and can apply for those payments pending verification of eligibility. Click here to be taken to that website.

After you collect the payout, feel free to take a non-Facebook guy out to lunch. No face templates required.