Published: 12:17, December 17, 2024 | Updated: 13:22, December 17, 2024
Cambridge Analytica lawsuit: Facebook-parent Meta settles with Aussie privacy watchdog
By Reuters
A photograph taken during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos on Jan 18, 2024, shows the logo of Meta, the US company that owns and operates Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp. (PHOTO / AFP)

Meta Platforms has agreed to a A$50 million settlement ($31.85 million), Australia's privacy watchdog said on Tuesday, closing long-drawn, expensive legal proceedings for the Facebook parent over the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner had alleged that personal information of some users was being disclosed to Facebook's personality quiz app: This is Your Digital Life, as part of the broader scandal.

ALSO READ: Meta to settle Cambridge Analytica scandal case for $725m

The breaches were first reported by the Guardian in early 2018, and Facebook received fines from regulators in the United States and the UK in 2019.

In this Aug 6, 2015 file photo, FaceBook Elections signs stand in the media area at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, before the first Republican presidential debate. (PHOTO / AP)

Australia's privacy regulator has been caught up in the legal battle with Meta since 2020. The personal data of 311,127 Australian Facebook users was "exposed to the risk of being disclosed" to consulting firm Cambridge Analytica and used for profiling purposes, according to the 2020 statement.

READ MORE: Facebook agrees to pay UK fine over Cambridge Analytica scandal

It convinced the high court in March 2023 to not hear an appeal, which is considered to be a win that allowed the watchdog to continue its prosecution.

In June 2023, the country's federal court ordered Meta and the privacy commissioner to enter mediation.

In this April 18, 2018, file photo, a graphic from the Cambridge Analytica website is displayed on a computer screen in New York. (PHOTO / AP)

"Today's settlement represents the largest ever payment dedicated to addressing concerns about the privacy of individuals in Australia," the Australian Information Commissioner Elizabeth Tydd said.

READ MORE: Facebook says SEC, FBI probing Cambridge Analytica incident

Cambridge Analytica, a British consulting firm, was known to have kept personal data of millions of Facebook users without their permission, before using the data predominantly for political advertising, including assisting Donald Trump and the Brexit campaign in the UK.

A Meta spokesperson told Reuters that the company had settled the lawsuit in Australia on a no admission basis, closing a chapter on allegations regarding past practices of the firm.