When Is the Facebook Settlement Payout Date? Updates About the $725M User Privacy Deal

Last year, a federal court in California granted final approval to a whopping $725 million Facebook user privacy settlement, ostensibly clearing the way for consumers to receive settlement payouts.

Now, however, it’s become apparent that eligible Facebook users may not receive settlement money until sometime in 2025, at the earliest.

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The reason? Objectors to the Facebook settlement submitted two separate appeals to the finalized deal in November 2023, drastically shifting the timeline for when Facebook users could expect to get settlement payouts—and calling into question whether the court failed to meaningfully analyze the settlement amount, such that eligible Facebook users will supposedly receive less money per person than they should.

Read on to learn more about the Facebook settlement payout delay, how we got here, and what might come next in the legal process.

Why are Facebook settlement payments on hold?

According to the official Facebook privacy settlement website, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California granted final approval to the deal, the motion for attorneys’ fees and expenses, and a final judgment in the litigation on October 10, 2023.

On November 9, however, three objectors to the settlement submitted two notices of appeal to the court. While one of the objectors dropped his appeal in May, the two others contended in a May 2024 brief filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that the district court “abused its discretion” in approving the settlement (more on this below).

The filing of these appeals effectively hit pause on the Facebook settlement, ultimately delaying when eligible users might receive money, since the remaining appeal must now be adjudicated by the appeals court.

Is this normal?

It is relatively normal for a class member, or class members, to object to a settlement. In fact, most settlement websites make note that it may take time for consumers to receive payouts given that all objections and/or appeals must be resolved before any settlement money is distributed to consumers.

The official website for the Facebook settlement detailed here states [emphasis ours]:

The Court granted final approval of the Settlement on October 10, 2023. Settlement Payments will be distributed as soon as possible. It is always uncertain whether appeals will be filed and, if so, how long it will take to resolve them. If any appeals are filed, distribution will not take place until they are resolved. Updated [sic] regarding any appeals and payment distribution timelines will be posted on the Settlement Website when they are available.”

It’s important to keep in mind that the potential for settlement objections and appeals is baked into the overall class action lawsuit settlement process and serves the vital role of allowing those who might disapprove of a settlement itself—or, as in this case, a court’s approval of a settlement—to have their voices heard before settlement checks are distributed.

Why did Facebook users appeal the settlement?

The objectors argued in their 67-page brief, among other things, that the court that approved the settlement effectively “abused its discretion” by greenlighting a deal that amounts to “less than 0.3% of minimum statutory damages” under federal law without explaining how certain factors—including the risk that Facebook could prevail and the likelihood that the settlement amount would be reduced for due process reasons—justify such a steep discount. From the brief:

Here, the district court approved an objectively large settlement number without meaningfully analyzing the settlement amount in terms of gross calculable damages, litigation risk, and due process limitations, resulting in the aggregated statutory claims of 253 million Class members being discounted by over 99.7% without adequate justification. This case requires that the Court address this issue.”

Long story short, the objectors contended that no sufficient analysis or explanation was given for why the amount each eligible class member would receive for an approved claim falls so far short of the available damages they would be entitled to should their case prevail. Specifically, the Stored Communications Act (SCA) and the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) provide that consumers can each recover a minimum of $1,000 and $2,500, respectively, for violations.

From the $725 million settlement amount, class members who file timely, valid claims would receive $2.87 per person should everyone eligible for the settlement file a claim, the brief states. The objectors charged that a recovery of only $2.87 per class member represents less than 0.3% of the minimum statutory damages under the SCA and only 0.1% of the minimum set by the VPPA.

“There is no basis in Ninth Circuit law for approving such a radical discount of the Class’s potential recovery, unless the case has no more than a 0.3% likelihood of success on the merits,” the objectors stated, arguing that a recovery of less than one percent of available damages “suggests the case lacked merit,” which is out of line with the district court’s determinations.

The objectors go on to assert that a pro-rated recovery of $2.87 is “clearly inequitable” for class members who joined Facebook prior to 2010 given their claims are “far stronger” than those of users who joined later—particularly because the Facebook user agreement after 2009 contained a provision stating that users consented to have their information shared with app developers while the previous agreement did not. According to court documents, the district court found that Facebook “does not possess a defense of consent” against  pre-2010 users, meaning they should be entitled to a higher percentage of the settlement fund.

Lastly, the objectors claimed that the award of 25 percent of the overall settlement amount for attorneys’ fees grossly exceeded the market rate for class action settlement recoveries over $500 million—i.e., “megafund” cases.

So, when will I get my Facebook settlement payout?

The official Facebook settlement website states that settlement payments cannot be distributed to eligible claimants until the appeals are resolved. The timeframe for the resolution of an appeal “can vary widely, and we will know more as the appeals proceed,” the site says.

It is likely that the remaining appeal will not be set for a hearing until the first half of 2025 or later, the website relays. From there, “there will be an additional delay before the appeal is decided,” the site states, and there could be additional proceedings that could further delay the distribution of settlement money.

How much will my payment be?

At this time, it is unclear how much money will be distributed per person from the Facebook settlement. As the deal currently stands, the amount of a Facebook user’s settlement payment will depend on how many valid claims are filed and how long a person was a Facebook user between May 24, 2007 and December 22, 2022.

Who’s covered by the Facebook user privacy settlement?

The Facebook user profile privacy settlement covers all individuals in the United States who were Facebook users between May 24, 2007 and December 22, 2022.

Is there a Facebook settlement website?

FacebookUserPrivacySettlement.com is the official Facebook settlement website.

How did we get here?

The settlement, once all is said and done, will resolve multidistrict litigation (MDL) filed against Facebook in 2018 on behalf of roughly 253 million users. The case alleged Facebook had permitted partners and advertisers to access private information users had shared with friends on the platform, including through Facebook Messenger.

The suit contested that most Facebook users believed information shared on the platform in this manner would be kept private and could not be accessed by third parties, especially since Facebook kept silent about its data-sharing practices until around 2010. The users accused Facebook of violating the Stored Communications Act and Video Privacy Protection Act, among other statutes.

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