Meta Approves Class Action Claim Settlement By Paying IDR 557 Billion For Violating User Privacy

JAKARTA - Meta Platforms Inc has finally reached the settlement of a lawsuit worth US$37.5 million (Rp557 billion) from plaintiffs who allege parent Facebook has violated users' privacy by tracking their movements through their smartphones without permission.

Preliminary settlement of the proposed class-action lawsuit was filed Monday, August 22 in San Francisco federal court, and is currently still requiring judge approval.

This agreement resolves the plaintiff's claim that Facebook has violated California law and its own privacy policy by collecting data from users who turn off "Location Services" on their mobile devices.

Users say that even though they don't want to share their location with Facebook, the company still deduces where their IP (internet protocol) address is coming from, and uses that information to send them targeted ads.

Monday's settlement covers people in the United States who used Facebook after January 30, 2015.

Meta itself has denied any wrongdoing in agreeing to this settlement. But they did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters on Tuesday.

In June 2018, Meta and Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg told the US Congress that the Menlo Park, California-based company uses location data "to help advertisers reach people in specific areas."

For example, he said that a user who dined at a particular restaurant might receive a post from a friend who also dined there, or an advertisement from a business looking to provide a service nearby.

The lawsuit began in November 2018. Lawyers for the plaintiffs can seek up to 30% of the settlement that Facebook and Meta promised last Monday for legal fees on the lawsuit.