Facebook is in a bad place right now. People are now concerned about its security policies after WhatsApp updated its data-sharing policies to allow the social media platform to acquire the users' info.
LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 25: In this photo illustration the Social networking site Facebook is displayed on a laptop screen on March 25, 2009 in London, England. The British government has made proposals which would force Social networking websites such as Facebook to pass on details of users, friends and contacts to help fight terrorism.
And now, the tech giant company lost its Biometric Privacy Breach case in Illinois. The case was held in California federal court.
According to Interesting Engineering's latest report, Facebook now has to pay each user $350. However, you must be a resident in Illinois to get the payment.
Facebook to pay millions of users
The social media giant is expected to pay around 1.6 million Illinois Facebook users.
"This is money that's coming directly out of Facebook's own pocket," said James Donato, the U.S. District Judge, via Interesting Engineering.
LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 25: In this photo illustration the Social networking site Facebook is displayed on a laptop screen on March 25, 2009 in London, England. The British government has made proposals which would force Social networking websites such as Facebook to pass on details of users, friends and contacts to help fight terrorism.
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"The violations here did not extract a penny from the pockets of the victims. But this is real money that Facebook is paying to compensate them for the tangible privacy harms that they suffered," he added.
The case filed against Facebook lasted for five years. At first, the social media platform proposed that they'll pay $550 million. However, Donato rejected the company's offer.
After that, Facebook increased the amount to $650 million which was finally approved by the U.S. district judge.
Michael Rhodes, Facebook's representative lawyer, explained that they agreed to pay $650 million since the company would spend billions of dollars if the case went to trial.
The case was filed after a growing concern regarding the platform's biometric privacy. One out of five FB users in Illinois claims that the social network stored a template of their face after June 7, 2011.
Facebook stops showing ads
On the other hand, the social media platform decided to stop feature ads temporarily. The advertisements contain weapon promotions and other protective equipment. This is because of the previous incident that took place in the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 22.
Facebook's move comes after concerned employees and users of the social network noted an uptick in the placement of the ads. The New York Times reported that the company confirmed that it will extend the ban to related products over the upcoming few days.
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Written by: Giuliano de Leon.
