Public interest groups appeal $20 Million Facebook “Sponsored Stories” deal

Facebook users and advocacy groups are calling on a California appeals court to review a controversial settlement that would see the social network pay $20 million to resolve claims that it showed users’ photos in ads without permission.

The multiple appeals were filed by the Children’s Advocacy Center and the Center for Public Interest Law, as well as by individual Facebook users on behalf on themselves and their children who are included in the settlement. The settlement in question relates to so-called “Sponsored Stories,” in which Facebook shows ads to a user’s friends to indicate that he or she “Liked” a product or company. Under the deal, Facebook will pay $15 to about 615,000 users and divide the rest of the money between lawyers and 14 non-profit groups. One of the groups, the MacArthur Foundation, has declined the money on the grounds it doesn’t work on consumer privacy issues; Facebook has not commented on how the groups were selected.