Facebook’s second attempt of settling allegations that the social networking company violated privacy rights is being considered by a US judge.
Earlier this year, a U.S. judge rejected a proposed class action settlement over Facebook’s ‘Sponsored Stories’ advertising feature. But at a hearing on Thursday in San Francisco federal court, the judge was much less critical of a revised proposal and promised a ruling “very shortly.” Five Facebook Inc. members filed a lawsuit seeking class-action status against the social networking site, saying its Sponsored Stories feature violated California law by publicizing users’ “likes” of certain advertisers without paying them or giving them a way to opt out. The case apparently involves over 100 million potential class members, Fox News reports.
According to the report, as part of a proposed settlement reached earlier this year, Facebook agreed to allow members more control over how their personal information is used. The firm also agreed to pay 10 million dollars as legal fees and 10 million dollars to charity, according to court documents.
In a revised proposal, Facebook and plaintiff lawyers said users now could claim a cash payment of up to 10 dollars each to be paid from 20 million dollars of total settlement fund. Any money remaining would then go to charity, the report said.
The company also said it would engineer a new tool to enable users to view any content that might have been displayed in Sponsored Stories and then opt out if they desire, the report quoted the court document as stating.
