In re: Facebook, Inc. Consumer Privacy User Profile Litigation

A federal court authorized this Notice because you have a right to know about the proposed Settlement of this class action lawsuit and about all of your options before the Court decides whether to grant final approval of the Settlement. This Notice explains the lawsuit, your legal rights, what benefits are available, and who can receive them.

For information on how to determine if you are a Settlement Class Member, and therefore eligible for benefits under this settlement, see Question 5.

Numerous lawsuits were brought on behalf of Facebook users who allege that Facebook (now Meta Platforms, Inc.) shared or otherwise made accessible to third parties (including but not limited to third-party app developers, “whitelisted” parties, business partners, advertisers, and data brokers) user data and data about users’ friends without permission of the users whose data was shared, and did not sufficiently monitor and enforce third-party access or use of that data. The Honorable Vince Chhabria of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California was appointed to oversee these lawsuits, which have been consolidated as In re: Facebook, Inc. Consumer Privacy User Profile Litigation, Case No. 3:18-md-02843-VC (N.D. Cal.). The people that filed this lawsuit are called the “Plaintiffs” and the company they sued, Facebook, Inc. (now Meta Platforms, Inc.) is called the “Defendant.” Settlement Class Members include all Facebook users in the United States between May 24, 2007, and December 22, 2022, inclusive. Meta expressly denies any liability or wrongdoing.

In a class action, one or more individuals sue on behalf of other people with similar claims. These individuals are known as “class representatives.” Together, the people included in the class action are called a “class” or “class members.” One court resolves the lawsuit for all class members, except for those who opt out from a settlement. In this Settlement, the Settlement Class Representatives are Plaintiffs Steven Akins, Jason Ariciu, Anthony Bell, Bridgett Burk, Terry Fischer, Tyler King, Jordan O’Hara, and Cheryl Senko.

The Settlement Class includes all Facebook users in the United States between May 24, 2007, and December 22, 2022, inclusive (the “Class Period”).

You may file a claim if you were a Facebook user in the United States between May 24, 2007, and December 22, 2022, inclusive. Each Settlement Class Member may only file one claim.

Yes. The Settlement Class does not include: (i) all persons who are directors, officers, legal representatives, alleged co-conspirators, and agents of Defendant or its wholly or partly owned subsidiaries or affiliated companies or employees of Defendant or its subsidiaries and affiliated companies; (ii) counsel for any plaintiff whose case was consolidated into this MDL and their employees, including but not limited to Class Counsel for Plaintiffs and their employees; (iii) the Special Master, Discovery Mediators, and Settlement Mediator who participated in this case and their staff; and the Judges and Court staff, as well as any appellate court to which this matter is ever assigned; and (iv) eligible persons who elect to opt out of the Settlement Class.

You may file a claim if you were a Facebook user in the United States between May 24, 2007, and December 22, 2022, inclusive.

If you are not sure whether you are included in the Settlement Class, you can ask for free help by emailing the Settlement Administrator at [email protected] or calling the Settlement Administrator at 1-855-556-2233. You may also view the Settlement Agreement.

If the Settlement is approved by the Court, Meta will establish a Settlement Fund of seven hundred twenty-five million dollars ($725,000,000.00) to pay all valid claims submitted by the Settlement Class Members, as well as notice and administration expenses, any attorneys’ fees and costs, and any Service Awards for the Settlement Class Representatives.

The answer depends on how many Settlement Class Members submit valid claims and how long you were a user on Facebook during the Class Period.

First, the total amount distributed will be the Settlement Fund minus the Administrative Costs, any amount awarded by the Court as fees and costs to Class Counsel, and any Service Awards to the Settlement Class Representatives. The resulting amount is called the “Net Settlement Fund.” The Net Settlement Fund is the amount of money available to be distributed to Settlement Class Members.

Next, the Net Settlement Fund will be allocated to Settlement Class Members who submit valid claims, also called “Authorized Claimants.” The Settlement Administrator will assign each Authorized Claimant one point for each month in which the Authorized Claimant had an activated Facebook account during the Class Period.

After the deadline for submitting a claim (see Question 12 below), the Settlement Administrator will add up all the points assigned to all the Authorized Claimants and divide the Net Settlement Amount by that number. The result will be the amount of the Net Settlement Fund available for each point. Each Authorized Claimant will receive that per-point amount multiplied by the number of points they were assigned.

Unless you exclude yourself from the Settlement, you cannot sue, continue to sue, or be part of any other lawsuit against the Defendant about any of the legal claims this Settlement resolves or the factual allegations on which this case is based. The “Released Claims” section in the Settlement Agreement describes the legal claims that you give up (“release”) if you remain in the Settlement Class.

You may file a claim if you were a Facebook user in the United States between May 24, 2007 and December 22, 2022, inclusive.

Claim Forms may be submitted online or printed and mailed to the Settlement Administrator at: Facebook Consumer Privacy User Profile Litigation, c/o Settlement Administrator, 1650 Arch Street, Suite 2210, Philadelphia, PA 19103.

You may also contact the Settlement Administrator to request a Claim Form by telephone 1-855-556-2233, by email [email protected] , or by U.S. mail at Facebook Consumer Privacy User Profile Litigation, c/o Settlement Administrator, 1650 Arch Street, Suite 2210, Philadelphia, PA 19103.

Please file the claim under the name of the deceased claimant and please fill in the details of their account under the “Your Facebook Account” section of the Claim Form.

For security reasons, you must provide us with a request to change the name to the beneficiary or estate of the claimant and documentation demonstrating the reason for a name change, such as a copy of the death certificate, probate documents, will, or other related documentation. Please send an email using our secure portal with an explanation of the reason for your name change request and attach documentation that supports the change.

To access the Secure Portal, please use this link: https://securefiles.angeiongroup.com/user/registration/new to send an email to [email protected] with the subject line “Name Change –Facebook User Privacy Settlement”

Click the “Register” button to set up your email and password.

Please include the full name of the deceased claimant and the claim ID from the claim confirmation email when sending your documentation.

Alternatively, the documentation can be mailed to:

Facebook User Privacy Settlement
Attn: Name Change
1650 Arch Street, Suite 2210
Philadelphia, PA 19103

If you submit a claim by U.S. mail, the completed and signed Claim Form must be postmarked by August 25, 2023. If submitting a Claim Form online, you must do so by 11:59 p.m. PDT on August 25, 2023.

The Court has scheduled a Final Approval Hearing for the Settlement of this case on September 7, 2023 at 1 p.m. PDT to consider: (1) whether to approve the Settlement; (2) any objections to the Settlement or any of its terms submitted to the Court; (3) the requests for awards to the Settlement Class Representatives; and (4) the request for an award of attorneys’ fees and costs to Class Counsel for their work in this litigation. If the Court approves the Settlement, there may be appeals. It is always uncertain whether appeals will be filed and, if so, how long it will take to resolve them. Settlement payments will be distributed as soon as possible if the Court grants Final Approval of the Settlement and after any appeals are resolved.

The briefs and declarations in support of the Final Approval of the Settlement and the requests described above will be posted on this website, after they are filed. You may ask to appear at the Final Approval Hearing but you do not have to appear. The date and time of the Final Approval Hearing is also subject to modification by the Court. Please review the Settlement Website for any updated information regarding the Final Approval Hearing.

If you created but then deleted one or more Facebook accounts, and later created a new Facebook account, the Claim Form allows you to include the full amount of time you had an activated Facebook account during the class period. In the Claim Form, in response to the question, “Are you filing a claim for a current account, a deleted account, or a combination of both?” select the pulldown option that specifies “Both Current and Deleted Accounts.” You will then be prompted to fill in information for both your current and deleted accounts. Note that if you had multiple accounts at the same time, they won’t be double counted.

If you have both current and deleted Facebook accounts, have already submitted a claim, and need to amend the claim to reflect information about both current and deleted accounts, please follow the instructions in FAQ 16 on how to use the Claim Portal to amend your claim. When you amend your claim, you can follow the steps in the preceding paragraph to include information about both your current and your deleted Facebook accounts.

Yes, this is an official email.  If you created but then deleted one or more Facebook accounts, and later created a new Facebook account, the email was sent to prompt you to amend your claim to ensure that it accounts for the full amount of time you had an activated Facebook account during the class period. Please refer to FAQ 16 for how to update a previously submitted claim and FAQ 14 for how to submit information about both your current and your deleted Facebook accounts.

If you need to update your claim, go to the Settlement Website, click on “Submit Claim” and click the link located at the top of the claim portal to edit your claim.  You will need the confirmation code and claim ID provided in the confirmation email  you received after filing your claim to access and update your claim. 

If you submitted your claim by mail or email, you may update your claim by emailing [email protected] or sending mail to the following address. Please include your name and contact information so that the Settlement Administrator can locate your claim.

Facebook Consumer Privacy User Profile Litigation
c/o Settlement Administrator 
1650 Arch Street, Suite 2210
Philadelphia, PA 19103
 

Your public username for your profile is the same as your timeline address, and appears where “[username]” is in the following example:  https://www.facebook.com/[username] . You can also find it in the following places:

• On Facebook’s Website:

Navigate to: “Account” > “Settings and Privacy” > “Settings” > “Username”

• On Facebook’s Mobile Application:

Navigate to: “Menu” > Select your display name at the top of the screen > Select the “…” next to “Edit Profile” > Username appears under “Your profile link” as: https://www.facebook.com/[username ]

• If your account settings have moved to the Meta Accounts Center (for website):

Navigate to: “Account” > “Settings and Privacy” > “Settings” > “See more in Accounts Center” > “Profiles” > Select your Facebook profile > “Username”

• If your account settings have moved to the Meta Accounts Center (for mobile application):

Navigate to: “Menu” > “Settings & Privacy” > “Settings” > “See more in Accounts Center” > “Profiles” > Select your Facebook profile > “Username”

If you are unable to locate your username, please see FAQ 18.

There are some Facebook users who do not have usernames.  If you have followed the instructions in FAQ 17 and have verified that you have no username, please provide the email and/or phone number associated with your account.  You can find the email and/or phone number associated with your account in the following places:

• On Facebook’s Website:

Navigate to: Your Profile (Click on the icon of your profile photo) > “About” > “Contact and basic info” 

• On Facebook’s Mobile Application:

Navigate to: “Menu” > Select your display name at the top of the screen > “See your About info” > Scroll down to “Contact info” 

• If your account settings have moved to the Meta Accounts Center (for website):

Navigate to: “Account” > “Settings and Privacy” > “Settings” > “See more in Accounts Center” > “Personal Details” > “Contact Info”

• If your account settings have moved to the Meta Accounts Center (for mobile application):

Navigate to: “Menu” > “Settings & Privacy” > “Settings” > “See more in Accounts Center” > “Personal Details” > “Contact Info”

Yes. The Court has appointed Derek W. Loeser of Keller Rohrback L.L.P. and Lesley E. Weaver of Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP to represent the Settlement Class as Class Counsel. You will not be charged for their services.

Derek W. Loeser
Keller Rohrback L.L.P.
1201 Third Ave., Suite 3200
Seattle, WA 98101

Lesley E. Weaver
Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP
555 12th Street, Suite 1600
Oakland, CA 94607

You do not need to hire your own lawyer because Class Counsel works for you. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense.

Class Counsel will ask the Court for an award of attorneys’ fees not to exceed 25% of the Settlement Fund, as well as reasonable expenses incurred in the litigation. They will also ask the Court to approve a Service Award for each of the Settlement Class Representatives not to exceed $15,000 each. The Court may award less than these amounts. If approved, these fees, expenses and awards will be paid from the Settlement Fund.

If you do not want to receive any benefits from the Settlement, and you want to keep your right, if any, to separately sue the Defendant about the legal issues or factual allegations in this case, you must take steps to exclude yourself from the Settlement Class. This is called “opting out” of the Settlement Class. The deadline for requesting to opt-out is July 26, 2023.

To exclude yourself from the Settlement, you may submit a completed and signed opt-out request online or by U.S. mail at the address below.  You may also submit a written request for exclusion that includes the following information: (i) the case name of the Action, In re: Facebook, Inc. Consumer Privacy User Profile Litigation, Case No. 3:18-md-02843-VC (N.D. Cal.); (ii) your name and current address; (iii) your personal signature; (iv) a statement clearly indicating your intent to be excluded from the Settlement (the request can only be made for you, not on another person’s behalf unless made by a person who has legal guardianship); (v) your Facebook account URL (if reasonably available) and the email address and telephone number associated with your Facebook account; and (vi) a statement that you were a Facebook user during the Class Period.

Facebook Consumer Privacy User Profile Litigation
c/o Settlement Administrator
Attn: Exclusion
P.O. Box 58220
Philadelphia, PA 19102

If you exclude yourself, you are stating to the Court that you do not want to be part of the Settlement. You will not be eligible to receive a payment if you exclude yourself. You may only exclude yourself – not any other person, unless that person is under your legal guardianship (such as a minor child). Opt-out requests seeking exclusion on behalf of more than one individual will be found invalid by the Settlement Administrator.

If submitted electronically, your request to opt-out must be submitted no later than 11:59 p.m. PDT on or before July 26, 2023.

If submitted by U.S. mail, the written request to opt-out must be postmarked no later than July 26, 2023.

If you are a Settlement Class Member, you can choose to object to the Settlement if you do not like it or a portion of it. You can ask the Court to deny approval by filing an objection. You can give reasons why you think the Court should not approve it. The Court will consider your views. You can’t ask the Court to order a different settlement; the Court can only approve or reject the settlement. If the Court denies approval, no settlement payments will be sent out, and the lawsuit will continue. If that is what you want to happen, you should object.

Any comments or objections from Settlement Class Members regarding the proposed Settlement Agreement must be submitted in writing to the Court either by mailing them to the Class Action Clerk, United States District Court for the Northern District of California; or by filing them in person at any location of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, and they must be filed or postmarked on or before July 26, 2023.

Class Action Clerk
United States District Court for the Northern District of California
450 Golden Gate Avenue, Box 36060
San Francisco, CA 94102-3489

Your objection must include: (i) the case name and number: In re: Facebook, Inc. Consumer Privacy User Profile Litigation, Case No. 3:18-md-02843-VC (N.D. Cal.); (ii) your full name, address, telephone number, and email address; (iii) your Facebook account URL (if reasonably available) and the email address associated with your Facebook account; (iv) the full name, address, telephone number, and email address of your counsel (if you are represented by counsel); (v) a statement that you were a Facebook user during the Class Period and the dates of such use; (vi) a statement of whether your objection applies only to you, to a specific subset of the class, or to the entire class; (vii) a statement of the number of times in which you (and, where applicable, your counsel) have objected to a class action settlement, along with the caption of each case in which you (or your counsel) made such objection; (viii) a statement of whether the objector has sold or otherwise transferred the right to their recovery in this Action to another person or entity, and, if so, the identity of that person or entity; (ix) a statement of the specific grounds for the objection, including any legal or factual support and any evidence in support of the objection; (x) a statement of whether you intend to appear at the Final Approval Hearing, and if so, whether personally or through counsel; and (xi) your signature. These requirements may be excused by the Court upon a showing of good cause.

You or your attorney may speak at the Final Approval Hearing about your objection. To do so, you must include a statement in your objection indicating whether you or your attorney intend to appear at the Final Approval Hearing. This requirement may be excused upon a showing of good cause. You may also appear at the Final Approval Hearing without submitting a written objection upon showing of good cause.

Objecting is telling the Court that you do not like something about the Settlement. You can object to the Settlement only if you do not exclude yourself from the Settlement. Excluding yourself from the Settlement is opting out and stating to the Court that you do not want to be part of the Settlement. If you opt out of the Settlement, you cannot object to it because the Settlement no longer affects you.

The Court has scheduled a Final Approval Hearing at 1 p.m. PDT on September 7, 2023. The hearing will proceed by video conference. A link to the video conference is available at the following address: https://www.cand.uscourts.gov/judges/chhabria-vince-vc/.

At the Final Approval Hearing, the Court will consider whether the Settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate. The Court will also consider whether to approve Class Counsel’s request for an award of attorneys’ fees and expenses, as well as the Settlement Class Representatives’ Service Awards. If there are objections, the Court will consider them. Judge Chhabria will listen to people who have asked to speak at the hearing (see Question 19 above). After the hearing, the Court will decide whether to approve the Settlement.

The date or time of the Final Approval Hearing may change. Please check this website for any updates.

No. Class Counsel will answer any questions the Court may have. You may attend at your own expense if you wish. If you file an objection, you do not have to come to the Final Approval Hearing to talk about it. If you file your written objection on time, the Court will consider it. You may also pay your own lawyer to attend, but such attendance is not necessary for the Court to consider your objection if it was filed on time.

If you are a Settlement Class Member and you do nothing, you will give up the rights explained in Question 9, including your right to start a lawsuit, continue a lawsuit, or be part of any other lawsuit against the Defendant and the Released Parties about the legal issues or factual allegations resolved by this Settlement. In addition, you will not receive a payment from this Settlement.

The Notice summarizes the proposed Settlement. Complete details are provided in the Settlement Agreement. The Settlement Agreement and other related documents are available at the "Important Documents" page on this website.

If you have additional questions, you may contact the Settlement Administrator by email, phone, or mail:

Email: [email protected]

Toll-Free: 1-855-556-2233

Mail: Facebook Consumer Privacy User Profile Litigation, c/o Settlement Administrator, 1650 Arch Street, Suite 2210, Philadelphia, PA 19103

Publicly filed documents can also be obtained by:

• accessing the Court docket in this case, for a fee, through the Court’s Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) system at https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov;
• reviewing the Court’s online docket: https://www.cand.uscourts.gov/judges/chhabria-vince-vc/in-re-facebook-inc-consumer-privacy-user-profile-litigation/; or
• visiting the office of the Clerk of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California at: Office of the Clerk, United States District Court, 450 Golden Gate Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94102-3489 between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Court holidays.

Please do not telephone the Court, the Clerk’s Office, or Meta to inquire about the Settlement or the Claims Process.

Angeion Group, LLC has been appointed as the sole Settlement Administrator by the Court. 

• The Settlement Administrator will  not   ask for your social security number as part of the claim submission or administration process.  It will only ask for the information required by the Claim Form or otherwise approved by a Court order, with the exception of limited information it may request to validate claims it cannot verify.
• The Settlement Administrator will  not   ask you to make any payment as part of the claim submission or administration process. 
• The Settlement Administrator will  not   provide an estimate of the amount of your claim.  It will pay valid claims if (and only if): (1) the Court issues an order granting final settlement approval; and (2) appeals of that order are resolved or the time to appeal that order expires. At that point, the Settlement Administrator will make payment in the method you choose on your Claim Form.
• The Settlement Administrator will not   send you a text message and will not   ask you to text them.

Communications requesting or providing the information in the above bullets or contacting you by text messaging are  not  authorized by the Court and it is possible they are efforts to defraud.  If you have any questions, please contact the Settlement Administrator by emailing  [email protected] , calling 1-855-556-2233, or sending mail to Facebook Consumer Privacy User Profile Litigation, c/o Settlement Administrator, 1650 Arch Street, Suite 2210, Philadelphia, PA 19103.