Facebook parent Meta settles decade-old data-privacy lawsuit

By BARBARA ORTUTAY
AP Technology Writer

Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc. has settled a decade-old class action lawsuit over the company’s use of “cookies” in 2010 and 2011 that tracked people online even after they logged off the Facebook platform. As part of the proposed settlement, which must still be approved by a judge, Meta has agreed to delete all the data it wrongfully collected during the period. It will also pay $90 million to users who filed a claim, after lawyer fees are deducted. Meta posted profits of $39.37 billion in 2021. Lawyers for the case said the settlement is one of the 10 largest data privacy settlements in U.S. history. But it is a fraction of Facebook’s $650 million settlement of a privacy lawsuit last year.