Proposal Would Kill Beacon, Have Facebook Paying $9.5 Million
Late last week, a federal judge in California gave preliminary approval to a settlement of the class action lawsuit regarding Facebook's Beacon program. The controversial program, launched back in November of 2007, allowed Facebook users to share online purchases made on third-party affiliate websites with their social networking friends. The problem with the program was that it was opt-out instead of opt-in, angering many Facebook users who unknowingly shared information they wished they wouldn't have.
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One such victim was Sean Lane, now the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit. He was especially angry after the news of an Overstock.com purchase was posted to his Facebook profile. The purchase, a diamond ring he bought for his wife, was meant to be a surprise. After that incident, Lane, along with eighteen other plaintiffs, filed a class action lawsuit against Facebook, claiming that Beacon's opt-out option was "inadequate, misleading and deceptive."