Facebook is blocking links to the official class action claims page for a lawsuit settlement for users affected by privacy concerns. The page helps users receive their payout from Facebook and Facebook is marketing the page as “spam” or “abusive,” which prevents people from learning about how to claim.
“If you are a person who, between April 22, 2010, and September 26, 2011, inclusive, were a Facebook User in the United States who visited non-Facebook websites that displayed the Facebook Like button, you may be eligible for a payment from a Class Action Settlement,” the website reads.
Reclaim The Net was alerted to the censorship by a reader and was able to confirm with David Strait, a partner at the DiCello Levitt Gutzler law firm, a party litigating the case, that fbinternettrackingsettlement.com is the official page for users to see if they’re eligible for a claim.
When users on Facebook Messenger try to share the link with someone, they’re greeted with a message saying, “(#368) The action attempted has been deemed abusive or is otherwise disallowed,” hindering the sharing of the claim information.
On desktop, Facebook is blocking links to the page under its “spam” policy.
The more people that come forward to claim, the more support similar privacy cases will get. Facebook blocking these links on its platform is hindering the efforts to get people to come forward to claim.
“I know, it’s a drop in the ocean, but it’s an important first step that we hope gets replicated in other cases,” Strait told Reclaim The Net. “If huge numbers of people submit claims, each claimant’s check will be small – but it’s still important to file the claim and send a message to Big Tech that our privacy matters.”
Facebook agreed to pay $90 million to settle the 10-year privacy lawsuit accusing it of tracking users’ internet activity even when they were logged out of the social media website.
Users accused Facebook of violating federal and state privacy and wiretapping laws by using plug-ins to store cookies that tracked people when they visited websites containing Facebook “like” buttons.
Facebook allegedly then stored browsing histories to build user profiles to help advertisers.
Those who feel they might be affected can apply to receive compensation here: fbinternettrackingsettlement.com
