"You're talking about, at the most, $5 per person. That will not even buy you a Starbucks latte or a Frappuccino.”
CALIFORNIA, USA — Some people can get a piece of themillions of dollars up for grabsin a Facebook lawsuit.
Many people are eligible and it only takes a minute to apply. It sounds easy enough, but the money people get might not even buy a cup of coffee.
Anyone who has used Facebook in the last 16 years can get a piece of the $725 million privacy settlement by Facebook's parent company.
“The news is very exciting for people who think they can make some free money here, just by being a Facebook user,” said Sanjay Varshney, founder of Golden Stone Wealth Management.
Nearly 70% of adults in the U.S.use Facebookto keep in touch with family, friends or news and entertainment. Those millions of dollars from the settlement will have to be shared with all those users, minus a quarter of the total first going to lawyers.
“Let's say 100 million people, let's say even 50 million people legitimately qualify, right? You're talking about, at the most, $5 per person. That will not even buy you a Starbucks latte or a Frappuccino,” said Varshney.
The settlement stems from multiple lawsuits by Facebook users who claimed the company improperly shared their data with third-party sources, like advertisers.
It begs the question as to whether it's worth even getting involved. According to Varshney, it's worthwhile getting involved because the marginal cost is close to zero.
All people have to do is fill out an online form, answer a few questions and provide a method for receiving payment.
“Like many of the lawsuits that I've seen in the past, they tend to be frivolous,
said Varshney. "They're usually just lawsuits designed by the lawyers, for the lawyers. Because if anybody's gonna make money in the settlement, it's the lawyers. Nobody else gets any money.”
For some people, the social message is more important than the money they'll receive. The settlement is seen as a form punishment for Meta abusing its users.
To get a piece of the settlement, the deadline for submitting the claim form is Aug. 25. The link to form is availableHERE.
As far as when people might get their money, experts says it could take several months. The earliest someone could get that money is later this year, but the case could face appeals, which could drag out the payment timeline.
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