Introduction
Social media platforms have become an integral part of our daily lives, with billions of users sharing personal information, photos, location data, and private communications. While these platforms offer free services, they often monetize user data in ways that may violate privacy laws and user expectations.
In recent years, users have increasingly turned to class action lawsuits as a mechanism to hold social media companies accountable for privacy violations and unauthorized data sharing. These lawsuits not only seek compensation for affected users but also aim to compel companies to improve their privacy practices and provide greater transparency.
Major Social Media Privacy Violations
Social media platforms have faced class action lawsuits for various types of privacy violations, including:
- Collecting and storing biometric data without proper consent
- Tracking users across websites and apps without permission
- Sharing private user data with third-party advertisers without adequate disclosure
- Implementing deceptive privacy settings that don't function as users expect
- Failing to adequately protect user data from breaches
- Violating children's privacy laws
- Tracking location data even when users have opted out
These privacy violations often affect millions or even billions of users, making class action lawsuits an appropriate mechanism for seeking redress.
The Cambridge Analytica Scandal
Perhaps the most notorious social media privacy violation in recent history was the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal, which led to numerous class action lawsuits.
The key issues in this case included:
- Data harvesting: Cambridge Analytica obtained data from approximately 87 million Facebook users through a third-party app that collected not only information from users who installed it but also from their friends.
- Inadequate oversight: Facebook was accused of failing to properly monitor how third-party apps used its data and not enforcing its own policies.
- Delayed disclosure: Facebook allegedly knew about the data misuse in 2015 but didn't disclose it to users until 2018 after media reports exposed the issue.
In 2019, Facebook agreed to pay a $5 billion penalty to the Federal Trade Commission and established a privacy committee on its board of directors. The company also faced multiple class action lawsuits from users, eventually agreeing to a $725 million settlement in 2022 to resolve claims that it improperly shared user data.
Biometric Data Collection Cases
Social media platforms' collection and use of biometric data, such as facial recognition technology, has sparked significant litigation:
- Facebook Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) lawsuit: In 2020, Facebook agreed to pay $650 million to settle claims that its facial recognition feature, which automatically tagged people in photos, violated Illinois' BIPA by collecting and storing face templates without proper notice and consent.
- TikTok BIPA settlement: In 2022, TikTok agreed to pay $92 million to settle claims that it collected users' biometric data without proper notice and consent, including facial recognition data for filters and demographic classification.
- Snapchat Lenses lawsuit: Snapchat faced a class action lawsuit alleging that its Lenses feature violated BIPA by scanning users' faces and creating detailed face geometry maps without proper consent.
These cases highlight the growing concern over biometric data privacy and the applicability of state laws like Illinois' BIPA to social media companies' practices.
Children's Privacy Violations
Social media platforms have faced particular scrutiny for how they handle the data of young users:
- TikTok COPPA violations: In 2019, TikTok paid $5.7 million to settle allegations that its predecessor, Musical.ly, violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by collecting personal information from children under 13 without parental consent.
- YouTube COPPA settlement: In 2019, YouTube agreed to pay $170 million to settle allegations that it collected personal information from children without parental consent to deliver targeted ads.
- Instagram underage users lawsuit: Meta faced a class action alleging that Instagram knowingly collected personal information from users under 13 without parental consent, in violation of various privacy laws.
These cases have led to significant changes in how platforms handle children's data, including age verification improvements and special protections for younger users.
Location Tracking Lawsuits
Social media companies' use of location data has been the subject of several class actions:
- Google location tracking: Google faced a class action alleging that it tracked users' locations even after they turned off location history settings. The company eventually agreed to a $391.5 million settlement with 40 states in 2022.
- Snapchat location sharing: Snapchat faced litigation over its Snap Map feature, which allegedly shared users' precise locations without adequate disclosure or consent.
- Facebook location tracking: Users filed class actions alleging that Facebook tracked their locations even when they had disabled location services, using IP addresses and other data to determine location for advertising purposes.
These cases highlight the sensitive nature of location data and users' expectations of control over who can access information about their whereabouts.
Unauthorized Data Sharing with Advertisers
Many class actions have focused on how social media platforms share user data with advertisers:
- Twitter data sharing lawsuit: Twitter (now X) settled a class action for $150 million with the FTC in 2022 for allegedly using phone numbers and email addresses provided for security purposes to target ads.
- Facebook advertising metrics: Facebook faced class actions for allegedly inflating video viewing metrics by up to 900%, leading advertisers to overspend on the platform. The company settled for $40 million in 2019.
- LinkedIn email harvesting: LinkedIn agreed to pay $13 million to settle claims that it improperly accessed users' email accounts to harvest contacts' email addresses without permission.
These cases demonstrate the tension between social media platforms' business models, which rely on advertising revenue, and users' privacy expectations.
Notable Settlement Examples
Several major social media privacy class actions have resulted in substantial settlements:
- Facebook Cambridge Analytica: $725 million settlement (2022)
- Facebook Facial Recognition (BIPA): $650 million settlement (2020)
- Google Plus data leak: $7.5 million settlement (2020) for exposing private user data
- TikTok biometric data: $92 million settlement (2022)
- Snapchat BIPA: $35 million settlement (2022) for collecting biometric data without proper consent
- LinkedIn data breach: $1.25 million settlement (2015) for insufficient protection of user passwords
These settlements typically include both monetary compensation to affected users and requirements for companies to implement better privacy practices, enhanced disclosures, or improved security measures.
How Users Can Participate
If you're a user of social media platforms, here's how you can participate in privacy-related class actions:
- Stay informed: Monitor news about privacy lawsuits against platforms you use.
- Check settlement websites: Class action settlements often have dedicated websites where eligible users can file claims.
- Watch for notifications: Platforms may be required to notify users directly about settlements through email or in-app notifications.
- Keep records: Maintain records of your account creation dates, usage periods, and any settings changes related to privacy or data sharing.
- File claims by deadlines: If you're eligible for a settlement, submit your claim before the specified deadline.
- Understand your options: Class action notices will explain your rights to participate, opt out, or object to a settlement.
Remember that settlement amounts are often divided among all claimants, so individual payments may be modest, even for large overall settlements.
Future of Social Media Privacy Litigation
Several trends are likely to shape future class actions against social media companies:
- Algorithmic transparency: Lawsuits challenging the opacity of content recommendation algorithms and their potential to manipulate users or create addiction.
- AI-related privacy concerns: Litigation over the use of users' data to train AI models without specific consent.
- Cross-platform tracking: Challenges to how companies track users across different platforms and services.
- Dark patterns: Lawsuits targeting user interface designs that trick users into sharing more data than they intend to.
- New state privacy laws: The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act, and other state laws are creating new grounds for privacy litigation.
- Global coordination: Increasing coordination between U.S. class actions and similar collective actions in Europe under GDPR.
As privacy laws evolve and public awareness of data privacy issues increases, class action litigation will likely remain a key accountability mechanism for social media companies.
Conclusion
Social media privacy class actions have become a powerful tool for holding large technology companies accountable for their data practices. These lawsuits not only provide compensation to affected users but also drive industry-wide improvements in privacy practices, transparency, and user control.
For social media users, understanding your privacy rights and staying informed about ongoing litigation can help you protect your personal information and potentially benefit from settlements when your rights have been violated. As social media continues to evolve, class action litigation will likely remain an important counterbalance to the immense power these platforms hold over our digital lives.