Australian Facebook users to share $50m payment after privacy scandal

Tydd said Meta would appoint a third party to administer the payment scheme, to be announced early next year.

The payments would be available to “individuals who were present in Australia for more than 30 days between November 2, 2013 and December 17, 2015, and either installed the This Is Your Digital Life app, or who were Facebook friends of an individual who installed the This Is Your Digital Life app”, the regulator said.

Affected Facebook users could “apply for a base payment based on generalised concern or embarrassment, or an alternative amount if they can demonstrate specific loss or damage”, the regulator said.

Facebook users can check a specific help page on the Facebook website to see if they might be entitled to compensation.

Details for how to access the payment scheme will be made public by the second quarter of 2025.

Privacy commissioner Carly Kind, who earlier this year ruled that Bunnings had breached the Privacy Act with its use of facial recognition technology, welcomed the settlement.

“We’re very happy with the outcome. Not only because it delivers something for the Australian community, but also because it establishes a really important principle, which is that the Australian regulatory environment can capture the big tech companies and shape their behaviour,” Kind said.

“The Cambridge Analytica incident was really the first time that the public at large became aware of how much data big tech platforms hold and how much power that data gives them. It was a big wake-up call for communities not only in Australia, but around the world.”

A Meta spokeswoman said the social networking giant “settled on a no-admissions basis, as it is in the best interest of our community and shareholders that we close this chapter on allegations that relate to past practices no longer relevant to how Meta’s products or systems work today”.

“We look forward to continuing to build services Australians love and trust with privacy at the forefront,” the spokeswoman said.

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