Meta, Facebook's parent company, has agreed to pay $90 million to end a lawsuit in yet another class action lawsuit over user privacy.
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“Finding a resolution to this file, which is more than ten years old, is in the best interest of our community and our shareholders. We are happy to close
it,” said Drew Pusateri, a spokesperson for Meta contacted by AFP, on Tuesday.
The social networking giant was accused of having tracked users in their internet browsing, even after they disconnected from the platform, to collect data for advertising targeting purposes.
The agreement submitted Monday for approval in a California court provides that the 90 million be paid to the plaintiffs who prove that they were affected by this tracking.
And Meta undertakes to isolate and destroy all personal information concerned, collected in 2010 and 2011.
According to the complaint, Facebook used "cookies" (pieces of computer code), installed in browsers by Facebook, to record visits to other websites.
For example, the social network knew that a user, even if not logged in, was viewing other sites when these included "Like" buttons ("Like") - containing code from the platform to the thumb in the air, therefore.
This problem has been resolved for a long time and is no longer relevant today, assures Meta.
Google and Facebook in the sights of regulators
The American group, like its neighbor and competitor Google, is accused of many evils by American, European and other country regulators.
Their use of cookies, in particular, is considered increasingly problematic in terms of respecting the confidentiality of people online.
The two global digital advertising giants claim to be working on alternative technologies to address these concerns but also to meet the needs of their customers, advertisers, in terms of ultra-fine and large-scale advertising targeting.
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A year ago, Facebook agreed to pay $650 million to end a privacy lawsuit against 1.6 million users.
A Chicago attorney filed a lawsuit against the platform in 2015, alleging it illegally collected biometric data to identify faces.
During the lawsuit, it emerged that Facebook was storing biometric data without users' consent, in violation of Illinois law.
The social network, determined to restore its reputation tarnished by numerous scandals, decided last November to do without facial recognition.