Reuters: Technology News: Judge gives initial OK to revised Facebook privacy settlement

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Judge gives initial OK to revised Facebook privacy settlement Dec 4th 2012, 03:09 Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Facebook to share data with Instagram, loosen email rules Wed, Nov 21 2012 Facebook takes another shot at settling privacy lawsuit Thu, Nov 15 2012 Facebook stock jumps 12.6 percent as share lockup expires Wed, Nov 14 2012 Toyota agrees to $25.5 million U.S. investor lawsuit settlement Wed, Nov 14 2012 Retail credit card fee settlement gets preliminary OK Fri, Nov 9 2012 Analysis & Opinion Defense firm vows to put an end to new wave of say-on-pay suits How Argentina lost game of chicken with renegade bondholders Related Topics Tech » Media » Facebook » The Facebook logo is displayed on a computer screen in Brussels April 21, 2010. Credit: Reuters/Thierry Roge By Jessica Dye Mon Dec 3, 2012 10:09pm EST (Reuters) - 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. 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. But in a ruling handed down Monday, Seeborg said a revised settlement "falls within the range of possible approval as fair, reasonable and adequate." 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. 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. If it receives final approval, the proposed settlement would resolve a 2011 lawsuit originally filed by five Facebook Inc members. 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. 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. 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. The case in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California is Angel Fraley et al., individually and on behalf of all others similarly situated vs. Facebook Inc, 11-cv-1726. (Reporting by Jessica Dye; Editing by Michael Perry) Related Quotes and News Company Price Related News Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above.

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