Contact 6 confirms Facebook could owe you money!
MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- It's a $20 million settlement and you might be owed some of that cash. Several FOX6 viewers have asked Contact 6's Katrina Cravy about an email going around saying there's a class-action lawsuit against Facebook - that anyone with a Facebook account can get in on it and possibly be awarded some money.
Nine times out of ten, when Contact 6 sees emails like this, they're scams. But this one is true.
A settlement is in the works because it might have used your name and picture without you knowing. How did Facebook do it?
The class-action lawsuit claims Facebook took user-names and likenesses to help sell products in so-called "sponsored stories" - those are the ads you see on the side of the page, though now many of those user photos have been removed.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE LAWSUIT, PROPOSED SETTLEMENT AND SEE EXAMPLES OF "SPONSORED STORIES"
The lawsuit calls it "unfair and deceptive," that Facebook engaged in "wrongful conduct" and "misleading advertising." It also claims people used in these advertisements have been "deprived of compensation."
Facebook denies any wrong-doing and liability but has agreed to pay a total of $20 million toward the settlement, revise its terms of service related to sponsored stories and give users additional information about how to better control use of their names and profile pictures in sponsored stories.
You have until May 1st, 2013 to file a claim. Individual settlement payments have been estimated at about $10 per person but depends on the number of people who file claims.