Facebook Sending Out Emails For "Sponsored Stories" Lawsuit Settlement

Back in December, you might remember when Facebook offered to settle a class-action lawsuit that saw the social network illegally use its users' "Like" information on various Sponsored Stories. Instead of taking it to court, the company decided to settle to the tune of $20 million, and if you received an email about the settlement, it means that you're entitled to up to $10 if you fill out a claims form.

Emails were planned to be sent out starting at the beginning of January, and they're still being rolled out as we speak. The email titled, "LEGAL NOTICE OF SETTLEMENT OF CLASS ACTION" invites you to take about five minutes to fill out a claims form that may entitle you to up to $10. We say "may" because the settlement agreement states that if it becomes "infeasible" to dish out a couple dollars to every person involved, the $20 million will simply just go to charity.

However, if payments do decide to go out to users, you'll see a check arrive in your mailbox sometime after June. Many users have been wondering if the email was a scam, because it does include some confusing legal talk along with a title in all caps, but we assure you that the settlement is real, and Facebook is willing to give you a slice for it.

Facebook has over 150 million users in the US, and the settlement is only $20 million, so if every US user sent in a claim, each person would only receive $0.13. However, we doubt every person will send in a claim, but even if only 20 million of US users sent in a claim, that's only a $1 per person — a stamp alone takes away almost half that, so the money may very well end up going to charity.