The stench of Cambridge Analytica is still hovering over Facebook, as parent Meta just agreed to pay 311,000 Australian users AUD $50 million ($31.7 million) over the scandal. The settlement with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) comes after a four-year dispute with Meta and follows a $725 million award in the US, along with payouts in the UK and elsewhere.
"It represents a substantive resolution of privacy concerns raised by the Cambridge Analytica matter; gives potentially affected Australians an opportunity to seek redress through Meta’s payment program; and brings to an end a lengthy court process," said Australian information commissioner, Elizabeth Tydd.
Cambridge Analytica, now defunct, accessed the personal data Australian users by an app (This is Your Digital Life) and used the information gathered to target individuals with personally tailored messages. The scandal was exposed by The New York Times and The Guardian in 2018, thanks in large part to whistleblower Christopher Wylie. Though the app was only downloaded by a small number of users, it also accessed the data of their friends, affecting 311,127 people overall.
Meta will be required to set up a payment system run by a third-party administrator starting in early 2025. Lesser payments will be issued to people who've experienced "generalized concern or embarrassment," with higher sums meted out to those who can demonstrate that they suffered loss or damage. Anyone affected should be able to apply in Q2 2025.
In a statement, Meta displayed no contrition and said the settlement was more or less a business decision. "We settled as it is in the best interest of our community and shareholders that we close this chapter on allegations that relate to past practices no longer relevant to how Meta’s products or systems work today," a spokesperson told The Guardian. The case took four years to resolve largely because Meta claimed it wasn't technically doing business in Australia, but that argument was finally slapped aside by the nation's highest court.
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