420,000 Illinoisans To Receive Cut Of $100M Google Settlement Payout

ILLINOIS — More than 400,000 Illinois residents are expected to get a cut of a $100 million settlement from Google after a judge approved the settlement against the company after it was determined the online platform violated the state’s privacy laws.

The judge approved the settlement amount recently and residents who filed an online settlement claim against Google by Sept. 24 are expected to receive an average of $154, the settlement states.

The ruling comes after a judge determined that Google, similar to other online platforms such as Facebook and TikTok, violated Illinois biometric privacy law. The law requires companies to receive permission from users to use their likenesses before putting them on display.

The settlement comes after a class-action lawsuit was brought against Google alleging that the company used images of users on Google photos. To have qualified to be part of the class action suit, users must have been an Illinois resident between May 1, 2015, and April 25 of this year.

The settlement estimates that 420,000 people will receive a chunk of the payout.

Those receiving payouts may choose the method through which they are paid and have the choice between Zelle, Venmo, PayPal an electronic Mastercard, or a direct deposit in their checking account. Payments will be started to be made within 90 days of the settlement date, which was on Sept. 28.