Meta settles with OAIC over Cambridge Analytica lawsuit for A$50M

The Australian Information Commissioner today agreed to a A$50M payment program as part of an enforceable undertaking received from Meta Platforms (META) to settle civil penalty proceedings. The payment scheme will be open to eligible Australian Facebook users impacted by the Cambridge Analytica matter. The Commissioner alleged that the personal information of some Australian Facebook users was disclosed to the This is Your Digital Life app in breach of the Privacy Act 1988. The information was exposed to the risk of disclosure to Cambridge Analytica and other third parties, and risked being used for political profiling purposes. The agreement announced today follows a court-ordered mediation, which has been ongoing since February 2024, as part of the Federal Court civil penalty proceedings the Commissioner commenced in March 2020. “Today’s settlement represents the largest ever payment dedicated to addressing concerns about the privacy of individuals in Australia,” Australian Information Commissioner Elizabeth Tydd said.