Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) shares were slightly lower Friday as Meta and users of its Facebook platform settled a privacy class action lawsuit, with Meta agreeing to pay $725 million. The suit stemmed from the 2018 revelation that data firm Cambridge Analytica had collected information from tens of millions of Facebook users.
The suit , handled by Rohrback L.L.P, said the benefits were "unprecedented in size" and is the largest amount ever paid in a data privacy class and the most Facebook has ever paid to resolve a private class action lawsuit.
The suit alleged that Facebook gave third parties access to user data without obtaining their consent.
"The amount of the recovery is particularly striking given that Facebook argued that its users consented to the practices at issue, and that the class suffered no actual damages," the agreement added.
Though the plaintiffs and the defendant have agreed to the terms, the judges overseeing the case in the Northern District of California will have to approve it to put a final stamp on the matter.
The lawsuit was brought about in July 2018 after Facebook disclosed 87 million users had their data improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica, which had ties to former President Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.
Cambridge Analytica eventually shut down in May 2018.
The lawsuit estimated that the class size is between 250 million and 280 million, adding that it did not have the ability to "identify the precise number due to a lack of records that can account for duplicate accounts."
Meta shares handed back to 71 cents to $116.41.
