Facebook Wins Preliminary Approval to Settle Facial Recognition Lawsuit

Facebook Inc. won a tentative agreement late Wednesday from a federal court to resolve a complaint that alleged that it had secretly gathered and processed the biometric details of millions of users without their consent, reports Reuters.  

In July, the social network platform increased its payout bid from $100 million to $650 million for the case under which Illinois citizens suspected it of breaching the U.S. Biometric Data Privacy Act.

The revised settlement agreement resolved the concerns of the court, leading to the preliminary approval of the settlement of the class action, wrote Judge James Donato in an order filed in the United States. The District Court of the Northern District of California.

“Preliminary approval of the amended stipulation of class action settlement, Dkt. No. 468, is granted, and a final approval hearing is set for January 7, 2021,” the judge said in the eight-page order.

Facebook allegedly breached state law with its "Tag Suggestions" feature, which required users to remember their Facebook friends from previously posted images, according to a lawsuit that started in 2015.

The company has recently faced criticism from lawmakers and regulators over its privacy practices. Last year, it agreed to pay a record $5 billion fine to settle a Federal Trade Commission data privacy probe.