The Cambridge Analytica scandal continues with Meta’s settlement with Australian users

The smell of Cambridge Analytica still looms over Facebook, like only a dead mother Agreed To pay 311,000 Australian users 50 million Australian dollars ($31.7 million) over the scandal. The settlement with the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) ​​comes after a four-year dispute with Meta and Track A $725 million prize In the United States, along with payments In the United Kingdom And in other places.

“It represents a substantive solution to the privacy concerns raised by the Cambridge Analytica matter, gives potentially affected Australians the opportunity to seek compensation through Meta’s payment program, and puts an end to a lengthy court process,” Australian Information Commissioner Elizabeth Tidd said.

Cambridge Analytica, which is now defunct, accessed Australian users’ personal data through the This Your Digital Life app and used the information collected to target individuals with personally tailored messages. It was a scandal Exposed to by New York Times and The Guardian in 2018, thanks in large part to whistleblower Christopher Wylie. Although the app was only downloaded by a small number of users, it also gained access to their friends’ data, affecting 311,127 people overall.

Meta will be required to set up a payment system administered by an external administrator starting in early 2025. Lower payouts will be issued to people who have suffered “public distress or embarrassment,” with higher amounts paid out to those who can prove they have suffered loss or damage. Anyone affected should be able to apply in the second quarter of 2025.

In a statement, Meta showed no remorse and said the settlement was partly a business decision. “We have determined that it is in the best interest of our community and shareholders to close this chapter on allegations of past practices that are no longer relevant to how Meta’s products or systems operate today,” a Meta spokesperson said. The Guardian. The case took four years to resolve largely because Meta claimed it did not technically do business in Australia, but that argument was finally rejected by the country’s highest court.