A U.S. judge has put a stamp of approval on a $20 million fund for Facebook to settle a class-action advertising suit, despite objections from groups representing minors on the site.
The ruling was issued Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The class-action suit, which was first filed in 2011, challenged Facebook's "sponsored stories" advertising program. A sponsored story is a type of promoted post appearing in users' feeds that may include the profile name and picture of Facebook members who have "liked" that advertiser's products or services.
The proposed settlement class includes roughly 150 million Facebook users whose names or likenesses were allegedly misappropriated to promote those products and services, the ruling said. Facebook has more than 1 billion users total.
The fund is to be distributed in cash payments of $15 each to Facebook members who submitted valid claims, the ruling said. Settlement administrative expenses, attorney fees and costs, and incentive awards will also be paid for through the fund, according to the ruling.
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