Many Facebook members received an email entitled “LEGAL NOTICE OF SETTLEMENT OF CLASS ACTION.” The email stated that people could claim up to $10 from the company. The  lawsuit, “Fraley vs. Facebook”, comes from Facebook’s decision in 2011 to put users in “sponsored story” ads based on things that they virtually “liked.” However, these ads didn’t reflect the things that people “liked.” Three months after the announcement of this decision, a group of people led by Angel Fraley sued Facebook in California claiming that the company had violated the law by using their names and “likes” in ads without their permission and without paying them. Fraley later dropped out of the lawsuit saying that Facebook’s lawyers used aggressive tactics, which consisted of digging up embarrassing material about her from her Facebook account.

According to yahoo.com, Facebook and the plaintiffs settled the lawsuit in December for $20 million. That money is paying the lawyers fees and the rest will be divided up among Facebook users who appeared in sponsored stories ads. The amount each person would get would only be $10. In my opinion, whats the point? Why would I spend my time filling out a claim to only receive $10 in return. I don’t understand what the big deal is. Sure they used your information without your persmission, but is it really worth it to get $10?