Yahoo’s data breach settlement website related to huge data breaches between 2013 and 2016 which affected all of its users (approximately 3 billion global Yahoo accounts) has gone live. The website says that most Yahoo users outside of the US and Israel won’t be eligible for compensation and warns that cash settlements for eligible users may be lower than expected.
The settlement was originally proposed in April and at the time, it was acknowledged that the settlement class would include “all US & Israeli residents and small businesses with Yahoo accounts at any time between 2012 and 2016” which included at most “approximately 896 million accounts and no more than 194 million individuals” – less than a third of the accounts said to be affected by these data breaches.
The breaches resulted in the names, email addresses, and passwords associated with the accounts being breached.
On the breach settlement website, Yahoo says that the settlement fund will provide settlement class members with “a minimum of two years of credit monitoring services” or “an alternative cash payment for those who verify they already have credit monitoring or identity protection” which they are keeping for at least one year.
Settlement class members who are eligible for the cash payment can submit a claim for $100 but Yahoo’s website warns that the actual payment may be less. It could also be more with the maximum payment set at $358.80 and the final payment dependent on how many people file claims.
The settlement fund will also provide cash payments of:
- Up to $25,000 to people who prove that they “suffered or are suffering” out-of-pocket losses, including loss of time, as a result of the Yahoo data breaches
- Up to 25% of the amount paid to Yahoo by premium account holders between 2012 and 2016
- Up to 25% of the amount paid to Yahoo by users of its small business email service between 2012 and 2016, with the maximum cap set at $500 per year
The settlement has not yet been finalized and the final approval hearing is scheduled for April 2, 2020. Those who want to object to or comment on the settlement must do so by March 2020. The deadline for those filing claims for credit monitoring services or cash payments is July 20, 2020.
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