Facebook to pay Australians $50m over leaked data

Australian Facebook users caught in a notorious data leak could be eligible for part of a $50 million payout agreed to settle a civil lawsuit.

The Mark Zuckerberg-led Meta, which owns Facebook, agreed to the figure after nearly a year of mediation talks with the office of the Australian Information Commissioner, which launched the lawsuit in the Federal Court in March 2020.

It alleged the data of as many as 311,000 Australian users was leaked into the hands of Cambridge Analytica, where it risked being used for political profiling purposes.

The data from 87 million Facebook users worldwide could have been shared with the firm, Facebook said previously.

In a statement on Tuesday, information commissioner Elizabeth Tydd said the payment was the largest ever made to address concerns over the privacy of individual Australians.

"Australians need assurance that whenever they provide their personal information to an organisation, they are protected by the Privacy Act wherever that information goes," she said.

Cambridge University professor Aleksandr Kogan launched an app in November 2013 called "This is Your Digital Life", which was presented to Facebook users as an online quiz.

It was later revealed that Dr Kogan was sharing information he gained through the app with British data analytics company Cambridge Analytica.

In accordance with Facebook's rules at the time, third-party apps could access certain user details such as names and birthdates as long as the user gave permission upon installing the app.

The apps could also access data that friends had opted to share with a user.

Meta noted in settling the lawsuit that leaked data related largely to users in the United States and there was no evidence the information of any Australian users was involved in the breach.

Individuals might be able to start applying to the payment program in the second quarter of 2025, according to the information commissioner.

Payments from the settlement could be available to eligible Australian Facebook users who held an account between November 2, 2013 and 17 December 17, 2015.

To be eligible, users must have also been present in Australia for more than 30 days during that period and either installed the This is Your Digital Life app or were Facebook friends with someone who did.

The payment scheme has two tiers, with the base being for individuals who believe they experienced generalised concern or embarrassment because of the matter.

The second category, likely to be eligible for higher payments, is for people who can demonstrate they have suffered loss or damage as a result.

A Meta spokesperson said the company's systems had changed significantly since the time of the leaks.

"We settled 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," they said.

"We look forward to continuing to build services Australians love and trust with privacy at the forefront."