Five Facebook users who were angered about their faces being used in ‘sponsored stories’ have recently attempted to sue Facebook. Luckily for them, they won’t have to. Facebook has agreed to pay $10 million in a settlement to these users, even after a Facebook spokesperson was quoted saying:
We are reviewing the decision and continue to believe that the case is without merit.
While the judge still needs to approve the settlement, there is one interesting thing about this type of settlement: if approved, the cash will go to charity, not to the people who opened the case.
The reason Facebook wants to settle has not yet been released, but it’s pretty simple to me. Facebook probably wants to close the case before it has a chance to mess with their stock price more than it already has. And since Facebook is a multi-billion dollar company, $10 million going to charity isn’t much more than a drop in the bucket.
What do you think of this case? Do you think that Facebook should have to pay the money for using users’ names and profile pictures in sponsored posts without their permission? Or you do you think the plaintiffs are being overreactive? Let us know in the comments!
