More than 300,000 Australians could soon claim a portion of a massive $50 million payout from US tech giant Meta, the parent company of Facebook, following a historic settlement over the Cambridge Analytica data privacy scandal.
The payout, agreed in December 2024, ends a long-running civil case between Meta and the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC). The regulator had alleged that Meta breached the Privacy Act 1988 by allowing the quiz app This Is Your Digital Life to access and misuse personal data from Australian Facebook users.
According to the OAIC, information from hundreds of thousands of Australian Facebook users was improperly disclosed, leaving it vulnerable to exploitation for political profiling and targeted advertising by Cambridge Analytica and other third parties.
Who Is Eligible to Claim?
You may be eligible for the Meta $50 million payout if you:
- Had a Facebook account between 2 November 2013 and 17 December 2015.
- Lived in Australia for at least 30 days during that period.
- Either installed the This Is Your Digital Life app or were Facebook friends with someone who did.
Even if you never personally used the app, your data may still have been exposed through friends who did.
How to Claim Your Share
The $50 million settlement fund will be distributed through an independent claims process set up by Meta. The compensation will include:
- A base payment for general data privacy exposure.
- A higher tier payment for users who can show personal loss, harm, or distress caused by the breach.
Claims opened on 30 June 2025, and the deadline to apply is 31 December 2025. Missing the cut-off will mean losing the right to any compensation.
Applicants will need to verify their identity, prove their Facebook account activity during the relevant period, and confirm they were in Australia.
