By Mike Scarcella
Feb 7 (Reuters) - Facebook owner Meta Platforms META.O on Friday urged a U.S. appeals court to uphold a $725 million nationwide class action settlement with users who accused the company of violating their privacy.
Meta and lawyers who negotiated the settlement argued that the accord was fair and reasonable and asked the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reject a pair of challenges that called the deal inadequate.
The $725 million settlement resolved claims that Facebook allowed political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica and other third parties to access its users' personal information in violation of privacy protections. Meta denied any wrongdoing in agreeing to settle.
A lower court judge approved the settlement in 2023, but some users objected on the grounds that Facebook should pay substantially more to consumers and that a $181 million fee award to the plaintiffs' lawyers was excessive.
Facebook, lawyers for the class and attorneys for the challengers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A lawyer for the settling plaintiffs, Derek Loeser, argued at Friday's hearing that the trial judge had thoroughly vetted the settlement after prolonged litigation. He said there was "no free or easy pass" from U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria. "He puts us through our paces," Loeser said.
Responding to a question from the 9th Circuit panel, Loeser denied that the $181 million attorney fee award would amount to a "windfall." He said the fees amounted to 25% of the settlement, and the trial judge found the amount was reasonable in light of the results of the litigation.
The lawsuit accused Facebook of violating user privacy by allowing Cambridge Analytica and other business partners and developers to harvest user data without consent on a widespread basis.
The lawsuit came after revelations in 2018 that Cambridge Analytica had access to data of as many as 87 million users at Facebook.
The $725 million settlement was the largest data-privacy recovery in history, according to the plaintiffs’ lawyers.
Facebook in 2019 paid $5 billion to the Federal Trade Commission to resolve a federal investigation into the company’s privacy practices.
The case is Sarah Feldman v Facebook, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 23-3550.
For objectors: Kendrick Jan and John Pentz
For plaintiffs: Derek Loeser of Keller Rohrback
For Facebook: Christopher Chorba of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
Read more:
U.S. judge grants $181 million attorneys' fee request in Facebook privacy case
Facebook's $725 million privacy settlement faces opposition from some class members
Facebook parent Meta to settle Cambridge Analytica scandal case for $725 million
(Reporting by Mike Scarcella)
((Mike.Scarcella@thomsonreuters.com;))
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