R$500 in compensation: will Facebook users receive compensation for data leak? 1

R$500 in compensation: will Facebook users receive compensation for data leak?

Most people fear data breaches, but they don’t always believe that it could happen to them. However, this happened in 2021, with the Facebookleaving around 550 million people completely vulnerable to attack.

As a result, a decision was made by the Maranhão Court, claiming that the social network would have to make a payment of R$500 to each of the Brazilians affected by the leak – a number that comes close to 8 million users. The total amount that Facebook would have to pay would be R$4 billion.

However, after the news broke on Thursday (March 23), Facebook-owned Meta said it had not been notified of any payment.

While this may be true, Meta will still have the right to appeal the court’s decision. Therefore, even if you are one of those affected by the information leak, you may not receive compensation immediately.

How do I know if I’m entitled to compensation from Facebook?

There is no official way to identify whether your data has been leaked. Furthermore, there has not even been a statement from Meta itself on how to find out whether you have been affected by the problem.

Another point that remains open is regarding the notification of Brazilians who have had their data exposed on the internet. This is because informing individuals about information leaks is within the scope of the General Data Protection Law (LGPD).

As the company did not disclose the incident, Facebook may attempt to obtain compensation for Brazilian users.

Find out if your data has ever been leaked

To check whether your data has ever been exposed on the internet, you can go to the website called “Have I Been Pwned?” and enter the email address you used between 2019 and 2021.

If, when you enter your email, a red screen appears saying “Oh no — Pwned”, there is a high probability that your information has been leaked.

And if you have any doubts or concerns about your online security, it is always advisable to take appropriate protective measures, such as changing your passwords without repeating them on different websites or apps.

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