FACEBOOK OFFERS TO PAY UP

Facebook has offered $650 million to pay a long-running class-action lawsuit about the use of facial-scanning technology.

The final offer is $100 million more than the initial settlement, according to USA Today, and follows a rejection of the initial amount by a U.S. district judge earlier this year.

“We are focused on settling as it is in the best interest of our community and our shareholders to move past this matter,” Facebook said in a statement.

The case centers around three Illinois residents who sued the social media company under a state law called the Biometric Information Privacy Act, permitting residents to sue if their faces have been scanned for data without written consent.

The residents claim that Facebook’s built-in feature — which suggests people and friends’ names in users’ photos automatically — is a violation of the privacy act.

In January, the initial settlement offer was set at $550 million and would have resulted in payouts of $150 to $300 per person in Illinois that is affected by the facial recognition technology. However, California U.S. District Judge James Donato said the payment was incredibly underwhelming.