You may have received an email describing that Facebook is the subject of a class action lawsuit over Sponsored Stories permissions. In case you are wondering, Sponsored Stories are posts where users can pay Facebook a fee to give more exposure to that post so that their likability score would increase amongst their “friends” or “fans”.
Thise mass email regarding this class action lawsuit provides you with several options, including listing yourself as a complainant against Facebook. And listing yourself as a complainant might get you a little bit of money. And when we say “a little bit of money” means $10.
Business Insider reports that Facebook got caught red-handed uses people’s likenesses without express permission for Sponsored Stories. If you’re a Facebook user whose likeness has been used in this regard, you can claim a piece of a $20 million pie, but because so many people’s likenesses were used without permission, that pie divides up into the price of lunch (if you’re lucky) if you elect to participate.
The class action lawsuit alleged that Facebook didn’t have the legal right to use members’ likenesses in Sponsored Stories Posts. Buzzfeed reports that while Facebook obviously disagreed, they decided to settle out of court for the sum of $20 million rather than risk litigation.
If you’re eligible, you will have received an email titled “LEGAL NOTICE OF SETTLEMENT OF CLASS ACTION” written in dense legal jargon. Twitter is full of Facebook users wondering if the email is legit:
https://twitter.com/geekgiant/statuses/294962785165643776
Indeed, it is! You can file a claim form here (it takes five minutes) and then wait for your check, which will be sent out after June.
There is one caveat, but it’s a biggie: “If the number of claims made renders it economically infeasible to pay money to persons who make a timely and valid claim, payment will be made to the not-for-profit organizations identified on the Settlement website at www.fraleyfacebooksettlement.com.”
If you got one of these emails, would you list yourself as complainant and get your piece of the $20 million pie?
