The proposed settlement would provide payouts to U.S.-based Facebook users in what plaintiffs say could be the largest U.S. class-action privacy settlement to date. The company had agreed to a preliminary settlement in August, but had not provided financial details. (The Wall Street Journal) 

Talking point: The lawsuit was spurred by findings that Facebook had allowed the British consulting firm Cambridge Analytica access to private user data, which the company then mishandled while working on Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Around 87 million Facebook users were likely affected, with more than 70 million living in the U.S. The incident confirmed longtime fears about the large amount of data Facebook collects and how that information might be misused. A spokesperson for the tech giant told The Wall Street Journal that it has since introduced a “comprehensive privacy program.” In October, Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen told my colleague Murad that regulators should mandate greater transparency from social media giants like Meta, particularly on how algorithms function and affect vulnerable users.