Facebook has agreed to pay $10 million to settle a lawsuit filed by Facebook users over ‘sponsored stories’, that began last year.
The five users who brought the case against Facebook, felt that the social network was violating their rights to remain in control of their photographs, likes and names used as part of Facebook’s ‘sponsored stories’ that launched at the beginning of 2011.
The sponsored stories allows brands to use the photographs of users who ‘Liked’ their brand pages as part of their advertising campaigns on the site.
According to court documents the users accused the site of violating users’ rights to control the use of their own names, photos and likenesses and did not give users the ability to opt out of such involvement.
At the time that the suit was filed, a Facebook spokesman said that “œWe are reviewing the decision and continue to believe that the case is without merit.“
Well, a U.S. District Judge felt otherwise. Judge Lucy Koh said the plaintiffs had shown economic injury could occur through Facebook’s use of their names, photographs and likenesses leading to the settlement of $10 million last month that went public over the weekend.
During the suit, CEO Mark Zuckerberg, was quoted as saying a trust referral by a user was the “˜Holy Grail‘ of advertising.
However, rather than the amount be paid out to the five individual Facebook users, the type of settlement means that the money will go to charity. The amount is yet to get final approval from a judge.
The case is the first one of its kind to have made progress in the courts and could result in millions of other users choosing to pursue similar legal action.
Source: The Telegraph
