Lane et al. v. Facebook, Inc et al.

Facebook, located on the web at www.facebook.com, is a social networking website. This lawsuit relates to Facebook’s Beacon program, which Facebook launched in November of 2007. Beacon was designed to allow users to share information with their selected friends about actions taken on affiliated, but third- party, websites.

The Plaintiffs filed this class action lawsuit on August 12, 2008, alleging that Facebook and its affiliates did not give users adequate notice and choice about Beacon and the collection and use of users’ personal information. The Defendants deny that they did anything wrong, and the Court has not made any decision about which side was right in this Lawsuit.

Facebook Beacon was a way for you to bring actions you took online into Facebook. Beacon worked by allowing affiliate websites to send stories about actions you took to Facebook. Here's how that process happened:

If you were logged in to Facebook and visited a Beacon Affiliate, an action you took (like writing a review or purchasing an item), may have triggered that website to want to publish a story to Facebook. Before that happened, the website would send some information to Facebook in order for Facebook to generate a notification that would display in the lower right corner of your screen. If you clicked "No, Thanks", no stories or information would be published anywhere on Facebook. Any information that was sent to Facebook's servers would be deleted. If you clicked "Close" or ignored the story, the story would be sent to Facebook, but not yet published.

The next time you visited your home page, you'd see a message reminding you that this story was being sent. There are three things you could have done with this story: approve the story by clicking “Okay,” remove the story by clicking "Remove", or ignore the entire message by doing nothing. If you approved the story and clicked "Okay,", the story would be published on your Wall and may have appeared in your friends' News Feeds. If you removed the story using the "Remove" link next to it, the story would never appear in your Wall or a friend's News Feed. If you ignored the whole message, it would go away after a few days and nothing would have been published to Wall or News Feed. However, when you ignored a story, it remained queued, so that the next time you generated a Beacon story, this home page message would have two stories, instead of one.

A proposed settlement agreement as set forth in a Stipulation and Agreement of Settlement (the “Settlement Agreement”) will resolve the claims asserted in the Lawsuit against Facebook and the other Defendants. Under the Settlement Agreement, Facebook has terminated the Beacon program. In addition, Facebook has agreed to establish a gross settlement fund of $9.5 million, the net proceeds of which will fund a non-profit foundation (“Privacy Foundation”), the purpose of which shall be to fund projects and initiatives that promote the cause of online privacy, safety, and security.

For additional information on the topic “What Does This Settlement Do?” click the links below:

• Termination Of The Beacon Program.
• Formation of Privacy Foundation.

In a class action, one or more “plaintiffs” sue on behalf of all people who have claims similar to theirs. All of these people are members of the “class.” One court resolves the issues for all members of the Class, except for those persons who exclude themselves, or opt out, from the Class.

Facebook does not believe that it did anything wrong. In fact, Facebook denies any and all liability for the claims alleged in the Lawsuit. The Court has not decided in favor of the Class or Facebook, and by requiring Facebook to provide this Notice, the Court is not expressing any view on the merits of the Lawsuit.

Instead, the parties engaged in a series of settlement negotiation sessions mediated by Anthony Piazza, Esq., of Gregorio, Haldeman, Piazza, Rotman, Frank & Feder. Eventually, both sides agreed to a Settlement. By settling their claims, both sides avoid the uncertainty and cost of a trial or appeal. The Representative Plaintiffs and Facebook believe that the Settlement is fair and in the best interest of all members of the Class.

You may be a Class Member if, between November 6, 2007 and October 23, 2009, you visited a Facebook-affiliated website that was participating in Facebook’s Beacon program. A Class Member has been defined as follows:

All Facebook members who, during the period of November 6, 2007 to October 23, 2009, engaged in one or more activities on a website of any company, corporation, business enterprise, or other person that entered into an agreement with Facebook with respect to the Beacon functionality, which triggered Beacon, the program launched by Facebook on November 6, 2007 and all iterations thereof bearing the “Beacon” name.

For additional information on the topic “How Do You Know If You Are Part Of This Settlement?” click here.

To represent the Class, the Court has appointed Sean Lane, Mohannaed Sheikha, Sean Martin, Ali Sammour, Mohammaed Zidan, Sara Karrow, Colby Henson, Denton Hunker, Firas Sheikha, Hassen Sheikha, Linda Stewart, Tina Tran, Matthew Smith, Erica Parnell, John Conway, Austin Muhs, Phillip Huerta, Alicia Hunker, and M.H., a minor, by and through her parent Rebecca Holey as Representative Plaintiffs, and their counsel of record, Scott A. Kamber and David Stampley of KamberEdelson, LLC and Joseph H. Malley of the Law Office of Joseph H. Malley, P.C. as class counsel.

Under the Settlement, Facebook has terminated the Beacon program. In addition, Facebook will pay a total of nine million five hundred thousand dollars ($9,500,000) into an interest-bearing account. The original deposit of $9,500,000, plus accrued interest, will constitute the “Settlement Fund.” The Settlement Fund will be used: (i) to set up a non-profit Privacy Foundation, described below; (ii) to pay certain costs of administering the Settlement, as approved by the Court; and (iii) to pay attorneys’ fees and expenses to Class Counsel in the amount awarded by the Court as well as any compensation to the Representative Plaintiffs which the parties have proposed to be in an amount totaling $41,500 distributed among 19 individuals.

For additional information on the topic “What Does The Settlement Provide?” click here.

If you choose to do nothing, and remain in the settlement class you will be legally bound by the settlement. By doing nothing, you will be giving up the right to sue Facebook and the other Defendants over claims related to or arising out of the Beacon program.

For additional information about the topic “What Are Your Giving Up If You Participate In The Settlement?” click here.

If you do not want to be legally bound by the settlement, you must exclude yourself by February 1, 2010, or you will not be able to sue, or continue to sue, the Defendants and certain other parties for the claims listed in the Settlement Agreement. To opt out, you must mail (email is not permitted) your original, signed exclusion request to: Your request for exclusion must contain your name and address, be signed by you, and include the reference “Lane et al. v. Facebook, Inc. et al., Civil Action 5:08-CV-03845-RS.”

Your original, signed request for exclusion must be RECEIVED on or before February 1, 2010.

If you decide to remain in the Class (i.e., you do not opt out), and you wish to comment in support of or in opposition to the Settlement or Class Counsel’s Fee Application, you may do so by mailing or delivering (email is not permitted) your written comments to the Court and the Parties’ Counsel.

Your written comments must contain your name and address, be signed by you, and include the reference “Lane et al. v. Facebook, Inc. et al., Civil Action No. 5:08-cv-03845-RS”. Your original, signed comments must be filed with the Court no later than February 1, 2010, at the following address:
You must also mail or deliver copies of such objections, papers, and briefs, such that they are received no later than February 6, 2010, to the Parties’ counsel at the following addresses.

For additional information on the topic “Can You Comment in Support Of Or In Opposition To The Settlement?” click here.

The Court will hold a hearing on February 26, 2010 at 9:30 a.m., before the Honorable Richard Seeborg, United States Magistrate Judge for the Northern District of California, 280 South 1st Street, San Jose, CA 95113.

The purpose of the hearing will be to determine: (a) whether the proposed Settlement should be approved as fair, reasonable and adequate; (b) whether the Class should be certified for purposes of the Settlement; (c) whether Class Counsel’s Fee Application should be granted and in what amount; and (d) whether the Lawsuit and Class Members’ claims should be dismissed with prejudice pursuant to the Settlement.

The Court reserves the right to adjourn or continue the Settlement hearing without further notice to the Class.

No. You are not required to attend the hearing in order to participate in the Settlement. Nor do you have to attend the hearing for the Court to consider your objection or other written comments. As long as you mail your written comments on time and follow the procedures set forth above, the Court will consider them.

However, you may attend the Settlement hearing at your own expense if you wish. You may also ask your own lawyer to attend on your behalf, at your expense.

The full terms and provisions of the Settlement are contained in the Settlement Agreement, which may be downloaded by clicking here.

The Clerk of the Court, located at 280 South 1st Street, San Jose, CA 95113, maintains files containing the Settlement Agreement and all other documents filed in the Lawsuit. Copies of these documents are available for inspection and copying during the Court’s normal business hours.