A U.S. judge on Monday gave his preliminary approval to a second attempt by Facebook Inc to settle a class action lawsuit which charges the social networking company with violating privacy rights.<\/p>\n
U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg in California rejected a settlement in August over Facebook’s ‘Sponsored Stories’ advertising feature, questioning why it did not award money to Facebook members for using their personal information.<\/p>\n
But in a ruling handed down Monday, Seeborg said a revised settlement “falls within the range of possible approval as fair, reasonable and adequate.”<\/p>\n
In a revised proposal, Facebook and plaintiff lawyers said users now could claim a cash payment of up to $10 each to be paid from a $20 million total settlement fund. Any money remaining would then go to charity.<\/p>\n
The company also said it would engineer a new tool to enable users to view content that might have been displayed in Sponsored Stories and opt out if they desire, a court document said.<\/p>\n
If it receives final approval, the proposed settlement would resolve a 2011 lawsuit originally filed by five Facebook Inc members.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit alleged the Sponsored Stories feature violated California law by publicizing users’ “likes” of certain advertisers without paying them or giving them a way to opt out. The case involved over 100 million potential class members.<\/p>\n
A spokesman for Facebook said the company was “pleased that the court has granted preliminary approval of the proposed settlement.” Lawyers for the plaintiffs weren’t immediately available for comment Monday evening.<\/p>\n
Outside groups and class members will have a chance to object to the latest settlement before Seeborg decides whether to grant final approval. A hearing on the fairness of the deal has been set for June 28, 2013.<\/p>\n
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