The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has given its approval to Facebook’s $725 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit arising from the Cambridge Analytica data privacy scandal. The long-running case has been a pivotal moment for privacy and data management practices, holding Facebook accountable for sharing user information with third parties without proper consent.
This decision comes following objections to both the damages and attorney fees, but the appeals court endorsed the ruling made by U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria. The judge’s assessment included the evaluation of potential statutory damages leading to the final approval of the settlement in 2023. Additionally, the court approved legal fees totaling approximately $180 million, equating to 25% of the settlement amount. For further details, the original announcement can be accessed here.