Judge: 'Sponsored Stories' Settlement Raises Concerns

U.S. District Court Judge Richard Seeborg in the Northern District of California has concerns about the proposed settlement of a class-action lawsuit about Facebook's sponsored stories program. But he didn’t say whether he intends to scuttle the deal or grant it preliminary approval.

The agreement calls for Facebook to pay $10 million to various law schools and advocacy organizations, and $10 million to lawyers who sued the company on behalf of users. The deal also requires Facebook to give users more control over whether they appear in sponsored stories, which publicizes users' "likes" to their friends. But the settlement agreement doesn't allow adult users to opt out of the program. Instead, Facebook has promised to create "a mechanism that will allow users to see and control which actions they have taken that have led to their being featured in sponsored stories ads." The settlement also doesn't require Facebook to pay any monetary damages to users whose images appeared in the sponsored stories program. Seeborg said at the hearing that he wanted more information about why Facebook users won't receive any money.