A Facebook class-action settlement will send some users a bonus second payout after an initial wave of checks went out last year.
In May, a California court approved a second round of payments in a $725 million settlement over claims that Facebook misused user data, according to the settlement website and court filings.
Although payments were initially sent out late last year, there is still about $100 million remaining in the fund, according to court filings.
The settlement, which was finalized in 2023, stemmed from several lawsuits against Facebook that alleged that the company made user data accessible to third parties without their permission.
Meta, Facebook’s parent company, denied wrongdoing in the case, but agreed to a settlement to avoid going to trial, according to the settlement website.
Here’s what to know about the bonus second payments.
Who’s eligible for a second payment in Facebook settlement? Can you still sign up?
Only people who received a first payment and cashed it are eligible for a second payment in the settlement, according to the settlement website.
Anyone in the United States who used Facebook between May 24, 2007, and Dec. 22, 2022, was eligible to be included in the settlement. Eligible users needed to file a claim in the lawsuit by Aug. 25, 2023, to receive a payment.
If a user is eligible and did not file by the deadline, they did not receive a payment in the first wave and therefore will not get a payout in the second wave.
When will Facebook settlement payments go out?
The settlement administrator will send out the bonus payments beginning June 9 through the next four weeks, according to the website.
Those who are eligible for a second payment will be notified via email three to four days before the payment is issued.
How much is second payment in Facebook settlement?
According to court filings, the settlement administrator estimates that more than 15 million people will receive a second payment. After taking administrative costs out of the remaining $100 million pot, there will be about $95 million left for the bonus payments.
The total amount each eligible claimant will get in the second bonus payment will vary based on what filings call “allocation points,” but the administrator estimates they will range from $4.67 to $7.32 each.
“Allocation points” are the number of months a user was on Facebook during the eligibility period. Meaning, a person who used Facebook for two years, or 24 months, between May 24, 2007, and Dec. 22, 2022, will have 24 “allocation points.”
What is the Facebook settlement about?
The lawsuits that led to the settlement were brought in the aftermath of the 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal. The since-shuttered marketing firm was accused of improperly obtaining and sharing information on Facebook users to target voters in the 2016 presidential election.
