Established 1963
January 30, 2020
Firm News
Facebook settlement is the largest ever privacy related cash recovery by users who claimed the company’s facial recognition “Tag Suggestions” feature violated Illinois privacy law
In what is the largest cash settlement ever resolving a privacy related lawsuit, a fund of $650 million will be established for a class of Illinois Facebook users who challenged Facebook’s alleged violations of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act. Given that the settlement is on behalf of a class of consumers, it will be subject to and not effective until it is approved by the District Court presiding over the case.
The settlement was reached by a trio of law firms that represent the plaintiff class. Chicago-based Edelson PC, originally filed the first suit against Facebook for violations of the Illinois Biometrics law. Thereafter, cases were filed by Labaton Keller Sucharow LLP and Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP. The cases were consolidated and transferred to the United States District Court in San Francisco. The three firms jointly litigated the case for nearly five years, before Judge James Donato, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.
The suit alleges that Facebook collected biometric information in the form of face prints, for the purpose of supporting its “face tagging” feature, in violation of the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act. Facebook has at all times denied any wrongdoing.
The settlement breaks new ground when it comes to privacy settlements simply by virtue of its sheer size: an all cash fund of $650 million for the class. “This is a tremendous victory for the class,” said Michael Canty, head of the consumer cybersecurity group at Labaton Keller Sucharow. “Here, Illinois enacted a statute not to thwart innovation, but to protect individuals’ privacy. As technology advances, corporations must be mindful of the privacy of their customers and more importantly, comply with the law.”
Jay Edelson of Edelson PC, “Biometrics is one of the two primary battlegrounds, along with geolocation, that will define our privacy rights for the next generation. We are proud of the strong team we had in place that had the resolve to fight this critically important case over the last five years. We hope and expect that other companies will follow Facebook’s lead and pay significant attention to the importance of our biometric information.”
Although the parties had multiple unsuccessful mediation sessions during the course of the litigation, the settlement, which still must be approved by Judge Donato, was ultimately reached with the assistance of mediator Jeff Bleich, a former United States Supreme Court law clerk, Special Counsel to President Barack Obama, and United States Ambassador to Australia. “The mediation with Ambassador Bleich led to an unprecedented settlement for the class, though I must admit I was really looking forward to trying this case to a jury,” added Robbins Geller’s Shawn Williams, who was slated to serve as trial counsel.
Paul Geller, the head of the consumer protection arm of Robbins Geller — a plaintiffs’ firm already known for several record-breaking verdicts and settlements in the class action space — emphasized the importance of attorneys having the resolve to fully litigate cases of national importance: “This case should serve as a clarion call to companies that consumers care deeply about their privacy rights and, if pushed, will fight for those rights all the way to the Supreme Court and back until they are justly compensated.”
Illinois is the only state in the country to have a biometric privacy statute that allows consumers to bring suit for monetary damages if their rights are violated.
The Parties executed a Stipulation of Class Action Settlement as of May 1, 2020, which was amended as of July 22, 2020. The settlement was preliminarily approved by the District Court on August 19, 2020.
If you fit the following description you are automatically a Class Member: “Facebook users located in Illinois for whom Facebook created and stored a face template after June 7, 2011.” To recover from the Settlement, you must have lived in the State of Illinois for a period of at least 183 days (6 months) and file a claim form. The deadline for filing claim forms is November 23, 2020 and they can be submitted on-line by visiting the official settlement website www.facebookbipaclassaction.com.
If you are a Class Member, you will remain in the Class unless you affirmatively take steps to “opt-out” of the Class. The deadline to opt-out is November 23, 2020. If you want to object to the settlement or the attorneys’ request for fees and expenses, the deadline is November 23, 2020. Please review the settlement notice (see link to the right) for the procedures for opting-out or objecting, or visit the settlement website www.facebookbipaclassaction.com.
The District Court will hold a final settlement approval hearing on January 7, 2021 at 10:00 a.m. (PST) in Courtroom 11 of the United States Courthouse, 450 Golden Gate Ave., 19th Floor, San Francisco, CA. The hearing may be rescheduled to a different date or time or be held remotely without another Notice to Class Members. Please review the settlement website periodically for any updated information regarding the final approval hearing.
If you have questions about the Settlement, please contact Labaton Keller Sucharow at settlementquestions@labaton.com or 1-888-219-6877, or contact the Claims Administrator, at 1-844-799-2417.
Additional information about the settlement can also be found at: www.facebookbipaclassaction.com.
