Meta Platforms has agreed to pay $90 million to settle a lawsuit over the surreptitious and abusive use of cookies.
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The information has been reported by Variety, which notes that Facebook tracked the internet activity of Facebook users even after they had logged out of the platform.
The decade-old case, brought in 2012, centered on Facebook’s use of the “Like” button to track users when they visited third-party websites — regardless of whether they actually used the button. , thereby violating US federal eavesdropping laws. The company compiled those browsing histories into profiles to sell the information to advertisers.
Under the terms of the proposed settlement, users who browsed non-Facebook websites that included the “Like” button between April 22, 2010 and September 26, 2011 will be covered.
“Reaching a settlement in this case, which is over a decade old, is in the best interest of our community and our shareholders, and we are happy to put this matter behind us,” a Meta spokesperson told Variety. The settlement also requires Meta to delete all data it illegally collected from those users, he concludes, noting Variety.
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