A payment from the tech giant could be in your future if you’re brave enough to submit your claim before next month.
Oracle America agreed in May to settle a class action lawsuit alleging the company tracked users’ online and offline behavior for $115 million, according to a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern California District.
According to the lawsuit, Oracle sold and/or provided users’ personal information to third parties without their consent, violating people’s privacy rights and the law.
“In the course of acting as a global data broker, Oracle has created a network that tracks and indefinitely records the personal information of hundreds of millions of people,” the complaint says, adding that “users have no way to lawfully consent to Oracle’s surveillance.”
According to the settlement agreement, the company denied any “illegal or improper” conduct and agreed to pay the plaintiffs money to avoid the burden and expense of continuing the litigation.
According to the settlement administrator’s website, no findings have been made against Oracle, and no violations of law have been found in court or otherwise.
Here’s what you need to know:
Who are the members of the Oracle Settlement Class?
Anyone who has shopped in the store, used location services or browsed the web in the past six years may be eligible to receive part of the $115 million settlement.
According to the settlement administrator’s website, the “period” covered by the lawsuit began on Aug. 19, 2018, and will end upon the entry of a final judgment in the lawsuit.
If the settlement agreement is approved on November 14, anyone who meets the following criteria will be entitled to fill out a claim for compensation:
“Any natural person residing in the United States whose personal information or data derived from personal information was obtained, captured, or otherwise collected by Oracle Advertising technology, or made available for use or sale by or through ID Graph, Data Marketplace, or other Oracle Advertising products or services between August 19, 2018 and the date of the final judgment in the lawsuit.”
When and how can I submit an Oracle Settlement Claim?
If you are interested in receiving compensation in connection with the proposed settlement, you will need to submit a claim online or by mail.
All claims, whether electronic or not, must be submitted by Thursday, October 17th.
Those who plan to file by mail can download a copy of their claim form or contact the Settlement Administrator at 1-888-255-4036 to have a claim form mailed to them.
All invoices sent by mail should be forwarded to the following address:
Katz-Lacabe et al. v. Oracle America, Inc.c/o Settlement Administrator1650 Arch Street, Suite 2210Philadelphia, PA 19103
You will be asked to submit a personal certificate along with your name, contact information, verification of your place of residence, approval of one submitted claim, and evidence of your data tracked by Oracle.
What and how much will I get from the Oracle Settlement Fund?
Oracle has agreed to provide monetary and non-monetary compensation to resolve a class action lawsuit against the company.
The $115 million will include a lump sum of approximately $28.75 million for attorneys’ fees and up to $225,000 for other expenses incurred or that may be incurred during the litigation. In addition, two Class Representatives will be awarded $10,000 each for their contributions to the settlement class.
The remaining money will be distributed to class members who have submitted valid claims online or by mail. All class members will receive the same amount, but the amount will vary depending on the number of valid claims submitted.
“Because final payment amounts cannot be calculated until all compensation claims have been received and verified, it is not possible to provide an exact payment amount for each valid claim up until the claims submission deadline,” the Settlement Administrator’s website states.
Class members are free to choose whether to receive their money via Zelle, Venmo, ACH transfer or paper check.
The companies also agreed not to “capture any user-generated information in referring URLs associated with website users or text entered by users into online web forms, except on Oracle’s own websites, and to conduct an audit program to reasonably verify customers’ compliance with their contractual consumer privacy obligations.”