Facebook is forced to pay a huge amount because of the way it used the pictures that users uploaded to the social network, using a facial recognition system to analyze them.
Facebook he didn't tell people that he was using this facial recognition system to identify the people in the pictures, and in 2015 a lawsuit was opened against him, which is now ending with 550 million dollars in damages.
Facebook implemented a feature for the social network that offered people recommendations to apply tags to certain people in photos, a facial recognition system standing behind it.
Facebook he would have recorded people's biometric data without their consent, and in the state of Illinois in the USA this act is illegal, so a lawsuit was opened against him, and after 5 years it finally came to an end.
Facebook decided to agree with the initiators of the process to pay the amount of 550 million dollars distributed to all those in the state of Illinois who were affected by the problem and ask to receive compensation, so the payments are not made automatically.
"Facebook said Wednesday it agreed to pay $550 million to settle a class-action lawsuit over the use of its facial recognition technology in Illinois, giving privacy groups a major victory that has raised the questions about the social network's data mining practices."
Facebook it is not the only company that was sued in the state of Illinois due to the violation of the same law, but it is the only one that pays compensation, and in such a large amount.
