Data Privacy & Security Data Privacy & Security

Facebook reaches $550 million settlement over use of facial recognition technology (update*)

By Mike Swift and Amy Miller
  • 29 Jan 2020 17:31
  • 29 Jan 2020 18:59
Facebook has reached a $550 million cash settlement with plaintiffs who said the social media giant violated an Illinois privacy law by using facial-recognition technology without gaining consent, heading off a trial in San Francisco where multiple billions of dollars could have been at stake.

Facebook's chief financial officer,

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Mike Swift

Chief Global Digital Risk Correspondent


Mike Swift is an award-winning journalist who has been at the forefront of covering data, privacy and cybersecurity regulatory news for more than a decade. As the Chief Global Digital Risk Correspondent for MLex, in addition to reporting, he coordinates MLex’s worldwide coverage in the practice area. Formerly chief Internet reporter for the San Jose Mercury News and SiliconValley.com, Mike has covered Google, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Twitter and other tech companies and has closely tracked technology and regulatory trends in Silicon Valley. He has wide ranging expertise from the business of professional sports to computer-assisted reporting. A former John S. Knight Fellow at Stanford University, he is a graduate of Colby College.

Amy Miller

Senior Correspondent


Amy is responsible for the coverage of an array of regulatory and litigation issues pertaining to the Internet, including privacy, data security and antitrust. Formerly a legal reporter for the ALM media group, Miller has closely followed legal trends in Silicon Valley and covered corporate legal departments for online and print publications including The American Lawyer, Corporate Counsel, and The Recorder. Miller is a graduate of Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and is an award-winning journalist with expertise ranging from education and legal reporting to computer-assisted reporting.

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