About 50 million users’ data was harvested
Facebook users in the UK could be entitled to up to £12,500 in compensation if their data was harvested.
The tech firm has been under massive pressure since it was revealed that Cambridge Analytica allegedly collected the data of more than 50 million users. #DeleteFacebook has been trending on Twitter since and the Cambridge Analytica CEO has since been suspended.
If every user whose privacy was breached received a £12,500 payout it could amount to £625 billion, double Facebook’s total £317 billion worth, law professor Maureen Mapp believes.
“There are about 50 million users whose data was harvested,” she told the Sun. “Assuming each one of them brought a claim for compensation for distress caused by the data breach…each individual may be awarded £12,500 as damages.”
David Barda, a data protection lawyer for Slater and Gordon said the amount would be less.
He said: “I think a much more realistic figure is £500 per claimant.
“The amount of compensation will depend on the level of distress suffered, but Facebook could be facing claims of up to £500 per Facebook user if those users were able to demonstrate their distress.”
So if you wanted to sue, you’d need to prove stress.
Mark Zuckerberg has since made a grovelling apology. Taking, predictably, to Facebook he posted a 937 word status update pledging to make it harder for third parties to “harvest” user data. He admitted the social network “made mistakes” over the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
He said it was a breach of trust “between Facebook and the people who share their data with us.”
