BC Supreme Court Approves $51 Million Class-Action Settlement for Facebook Users

A British Columbia Supreme Court judge approved a $51 million class-action settlement between Facebook parent company Meta and 4.3 million users in four provinces. Justice Nitya Iyer formally approved the settlement amount earlier this month. As a result, Meta is offering compensation to eligible residents of British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Newfoundland and Labrador for using their images without permission to advertise products in Facebook’s now-defunct sponsored stories feature. The settlement affects any residents of the four provinces who were registered with Facebook or had a profile photo posted between Jan. 1, 2011, and May 30, 2014, according to the agreement. A settlement was reached in November by Meta and lawyers representing class plaintiff Deborah Douez, a B.C. resident. The settlement is a compromise that allows the company to resolve the claims without any “admission of liability or wrongdoing or fault by the defendant,” according to class administrator MNP....