After Facebook agreed to settle the privacy lawsuit, Instagram users are wondering if Meta’s other platform has reached a settlement and if there is a form to file for their share of the claim.
Mark Zuckerberg‘s company, Facebook, did not accept any wrongdoing but settled a class action lawsuit for a whopping $725 million. Yet, many wondered if the settlement was legit or just a scam.
And now, Illinois residents want to know if they are receiving a settlement from Instagram over alleged privacy violations. Let us explain why.
Is the Instagram settlement real?
Instagram hasn’t reached any settlement like Facebook over the alleged privacy breach as of today, April 25, 2023.
However, a lawsuit was filed against Meta’s photo-sharing app in state court in Redwood City, California in 2020, accusing the company of allegedly collecting, storing, and profiting from the biometric data of more than 100 million users without their knowledge.
But, a spokesperson for Facebook denied the allegations at the time in an email statement that read: “This suit is baseless” and “Instagram doesn’t use face recognition technology.”
The users will receive the payout only if Instagram agrees to settle the lawsuit and the court approves the same once any appeal is resolved.
Confusion stems from a recent update
It seems like a few Instagram users have misinterpreted an update on ClassAction.Org regarding legal action against Instagram over alleged privacy violations.
The mass arbitration was started by a group of attorneys, representing Instagram users in Illinois. The petition was based on the Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), which protects the biometric information of Illinois residents.
However, the attorneys have dropped the investigation into the matter and the information provided on the website is for reference only.
Under state law, a company can be paid $1,000 per violation — or $5,000 if it’s found to have acted recklessly or intentionally violated the users’ privacy.
Claim form doesn’t exist
Instagram users in Illinois have confused the above petition for a settlement. Many are under the assumption that they will be receiving a claim form or have already signed up for their share when neither has happened.
“So where’s my payment,” asked one user.
Another user claims to have been contacted by attorneys who were involved in the initial investigation and wrote: “I was told that the payout was supposed to be paid in November or December latest. After a frantic phone call urging me to sign my Docs.”
“Why is there no update on this? Status please,” asked another.
The post Instagram users hope to benefit from privacy lawsuits after Facebook settles for $725m appeared first on HITC.
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