META to Pay ₹270 Crore in Compensation Over Cambridge Analytica Scandal in Australia
Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook, has agreed to pay 270 million Australian dollars (approximately ₹270 crore) in compensation following the Cambridge Analytica data privacy scandal. The company has established a compensation fund of 50 million Australian dollars to reimburse affected Facebook users in Australia whose data privacy was compromised.
According to reports, this is the largest privacy compensation initiative ever launched in Australia. Around 31.1 million Australian Facebook users are eligible to receive payments under this scheme. Eligible claimants must submit their applications by December 31, 2025, after which the claims process will officially close.
Background of the Scandal
The compensation stems from the Cambridge Analytica incident, one of the biggest data privacy scandals in tech history. In the 2010s, the British firm Cambridge Analytica illegally harvested personal data from over 87 million Facebook users worldwide without consent. The data was allegedly used for political profiling and targeted advertising.
Following global backlash, Meta faced several investigations and penalties. In the United States, the company was fined 5 billion USD by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and later agreed to a 725 million USD settlement plan to compensate affected users. The Australian compensation follows similar legal action and reflects Meta’s effort to address data privacy violations more broadly.
Eligibility Criteria for Australian Users
The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) has confirmed that a formal settlement agreement has been reached with Meta. Under this arrangement, users can file for compensation if they meet specific criteria:
- They were active Facebook users between November 2, 2013, and December 17, 2015.
- They resided in Australia for at least 30 days during that period.
- They either installed the app “This Is Your Digital Life” (also referred to as the “Lyft app”) or were Facebook friends with someone who did.
Interestingly, only 53 Australian users directly installed the “This Is Your Digital Life” quiz app, but the app’s data-sharing structure enabled access to their friends’ profiles, significantly widening the number of affected accounts.
Final Timeline
The claims process is now open and will continue until December 31, 2025. After the verification of submitted claims, eligible users will receive compensation through the dedicated fund. The move is being seen as a major milestone in Australia’s push for stronger data protection and user privacy enforcement.
Meta’s settlement in Australia serves as a global reminder of the consequences of data misuse and the growing emphasis on digital accountability and user privacy rights worldwide.