CCC has been in the class action game for over 25 years and we know some companies will always be sued. For some reason or another, Meta Inc., the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, tends to be constantly in the news for class action lawsuits brought against them. Today we want to break down the $68.5M Instagram Illinois BIPA Settlement.

What is this lawsuit about? 
The lawsuit alleges the Defendant violated Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act, 740 ILCS 14/1, et seq. (“BIPA”), based on Defendant allegedly collecting and storing biometric identifiers and/or biometric information (collectively, “biometric data”) through the use of Defendant’s Instagram social media platform without complying with BIPA’s requirements. Defendant denies all wrongdoing or liability of any kind whatsoever asserted by Plaintiffs or Settlement Class Members in the Litigation. 

Who is included in this settlement?
The Settlement Class includes the following persons: All individuals who used Instagram while in Illinois at any time between August 10, 2015 and August 16, 2023 (the “Class Period”). For clarity, the Class will include both minors and adults and all will be treated the same under the terms of the Settlement.

How to participate?
CCC is happy to help you file your claim and please reach out to Omar at oreyes@certificateclearing.com or 773-849-3121 to sign up today. Note you can always file a claim on your own here: https://instagrambipasettlement.com/submit-claim The deadline for submitting this Claim Form is September 27, 2023 at 11:59:59 P.M. PT and if you prefer CCC to help you; we track the settlement, file your claim and deal with any audits. 

How much money can I expect to receive?
The Settlement Fund provides $68,500,000 to pay for all Settlement Payments, all Settlement Administration Expenses, all Taxes and Tax Expenses, any Service Awards to the Class Representatives; and any Fee Award to Class Counsel. After paying all these expenses, roughly $45.6M will be distributed to eligible class members who file a claim.

Now most of you want the straight number answer, but given we do not know how many people will file, we need to provide a range. On the lower end, we project it could be $20-40, but on the upper end, we could see $60-80; again the main factor reducing the payment amount are the number of people who file an eligible claim. This case is strictly for Illinois and typically less than 3% of eligible people file, so we always encourage folks to participate one way or another.