Facebook settles privacy lawsuit for $10 million

Facebook has pledged to donate $10 million to charity in settlement of a “friend ads” lawsuit. The lawsuit revolved around likes from friends used for advertising without permission.

According to a judge in California, the American state in which the lawsuit against Facebook was filed, names of users may not be used to generate advertisements. The judge reasons that the use of names and accompanying photos without permission, and for personal gain, causes ‘economic damage’ to the user.

Following this ruling, the prosecutors and Facebook reached a mutual agreement, with the latter promising to donate $10 million to charity. It is still unclear whether this will also change the policy regarding Sponsored Stories. Initially, the plaintiffs, five in total, had sought damages in their class-action suit.

The lawsuit was filed late last year and revolved around violating a law that states that individuals may not be used for advertising without permission. Initially, Facebook tried to stop the lawsuit, but the judge decided that it could go ahead.

Facebook uses Sponsored Stories as a means of promoting brands or products with recommendation from friends. For example, likes from Facebook friends can be used to generate an advertisement. However, it is not possible to disable the use of your own likes for advertising purposes.