Meta has reached a substantial agreement with the Australian Information Commissioner of a A$50 million payment program as part of an enforceable undertaking (EU) following the 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal.
The agreement announced today follows a court-ordered mediation, which has been ongoing since February 2024, as part of the Federal Court civil penalty proceedings the Commissioner commenced in March 2020.
“Today’s settlement represents the largest ever payment dedicated to addressing concerns about the privacy of individuals in Australia,” Australian Information Commissioner Elizabeth Tydd said.
“It represents a substantive resolution of privacy concerns raised by the Cambridge Analytica matter, gives potentially affected Australians an opportunity to seek redress through Meta’s payment program, and brings to an end a lengthy court process.”
Meta will be required to set up a payment scheme as part of the EU where they will appoint a third party to administer the funds from the payment scheme.
The payment scheme will be open to those who held a Facebook account between 2 November 2013 and 17 December 2015, were present in Australia for more than 30 days during that time, and either installed or had a Facebook friend who installed the Facebook personality quiz app This is Your Life Digital.
“The payment scheme is a significant amount that demonstrates that all entities operating in Australia must be transparent and accountable in the way they handle personal information, in accordance with their obligations under Australian privacy law, and give users reasonable choice and control about how their personal information is used,” Tydd said.
“This also applies to global corporations that operate here. Australians need assurance that whenever they provide their personal information to an organisation, they are protected by the Privacy Act wherever that information goes.”
The commissioner launched the case in 2020 after it was revealed This is Your Life Digital was connected to the broader Cambridge Analytica scandal that was exposed in 2018.
According to Meta, the agreement was reached on a “no admission” basis, marking the end of the legal battle.
