The leak was revealed after the company that changed its corporate name to Meta came under fire for collecting unwitting users' personal information for purposes including targeted advertising - a currently automated practice, workers who wrote the directive pointed out. In an internal document obtained by Motherboard, privacy engineers for the site pointed out flaws in its data management system, admitting they were at a loss as to where its users' data goes. In 2022, leaked documents revealed that brass at flailing Facebook failed to keep track of its nearly three billion users' data, as the Mark Zuckerberg-led company continues to face scrutiny from privacy regulators. 'Over the last three years we revamped our approach to privacy and implemented a comprehensive privacy program,' Meta said in a statement, adding that the settlement 'was in the best interest of our community and shareholders.' Meta released a statement in December after the lawsuit settlement was announced. You will also be asked to provide your Facebook user names and phone number linked to your account. The form asks if you lived in the US during a specific time and were a Facebook user. Users who think they are entitled to a portion of the settlement can fill out a form with their name, address, and email. The Court held a hearing on preliminary approval of the Settlement on Maand granted Preliminary Approval of the Settlement on March 29, 2023. The lawsuit, in which Meta admitted no wrongdoing, claims the social media platform made user data and data about users' friends without permission available to third parties 'This historic settlement will provide meaningful relief to the class in this complex and novel privacy case,' said Derek Loeser and Lesley Weaver of Keller Rohrback LLP, the law firm representing the plaintiffs, in a statement. In August 2022, a settlement was reached and brought to the court, followed by months of negotiations until December 22, when plaintiffs filed a motion seeking preliminary approval of the settlement.

The lawsuit was filed in 2019 by plaintiffs who claimed Facebook did not just share basic data, like gender and age, but also their photographs, videos they made, videos they watched and words from their direct personal messages.

Meta was approved for the $725 million settlement last month by a California federal judge. This allowed third-party apps to 'bundle and sell access to Facebook users' private information, including to the political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica, without users' knowledge or consent,' the lawsuit claims. The suit consolidates several filed against the company and claims that 'Facebook failed to properly protect users' content and information from misuse or unauthorized access. 'Facebook has allegedly known about Cambridge Analytica's improper data collection since 2015 and failed to take action to stop the activity or notify users until March 2018,' the law office shared on its website. Eligible users are those who had a Facebook account from through December 22, 2022

Facebook sued losing control users