Facebook is the largest social media network, and also a large company sitting on a huge amount of resources.
The company is frequently under fire, encountered scrutiny, user complaints, and accused for violations. As here, one of which was when Facebook was accused for violating Illinois biometric privacy law by collecting data of millions of users in the state without their consent for the company’s photo tagging product called the Tag Suggestions.
This particular feature uses AI-based face-matching software to suggest the names of people in users’ photos.
The company also didn't tell anything to them about how long the data would be kept.
Facebook denied the accusation, saying that the allegations have no merit.
However, Facebook agreed to settle this class-action lawsuit by paying $550 million to eligible Illinois users and for the plaintiffs’ legal fees.
Since the Illinois law was enacted in 2008, it said that companies selling voice assistants, doorbell cameras, photo labeling and other technology may collect biometric details from people without their knowledge or consent.
Many of the companies have argued that people should not be able to sue if they cannot prove they suffered harms like financial losses. Facebook made similar claims in the facial recognition lawsuit, including in a petition in December asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case.
Facebook however, lost the appeal.
The case shows that laws with regards with privacy can hold major companies accountable for what they've done.
This case may not change Facebook's plan or agenda in the future, given by Facebook's size, $550 million is just a pocket change.
Facebook disclosed the settlement as part of its Q4 2019 financial report, which saw the company earned $21 billion in revenues.
However, David Wehner, Facebook’s Chief Financial Officer, noted in an earnings call with investors that the settlement added to the social network’s rising general and administrative costs, which increased 87% from a year prior.
“We decided to pursue a settlement as it was in the best interest of our community and our shareholders to move past this matter,” a Facebook spokesman said in a statement.
The company also made some changes to its facial recognition feature in September in response to the proceeding, allowing users to opt out of the Tag Suggestions feature.
This incident isn't the first Facebook has made over its use of technology and consumer privacy issues.
For example, the company was already fined $5 billion by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for privacy violations from the company’s role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal, the largest ever sum charged by the agency. Facebook also faced fines in Italy and the United Kingdom over data privacy.
