It is "the largest amount ever raised in a privacy class action," as well as the largest amount Facebook has ever paid to settle a private class action, plaintiffs' attorneys said.

"We have sought an agreement as it is in the best interests of our community and shareholders," said Meta spokeswoman Dina El-Kassaby Luce. "Over the past three years we have revised our approach to data protection and introduced a comprehensive data protection program."

It was announced last August that Facebook had reached a preliminary agreement in this case - however, the amount and the terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

The litigation began in 2018. Facebook users had filed a lawsuit against the online network for violating privacy rules because Facebook shared personal user data with Cambridge Analytica and others.

The British consulting firm, which no longer exists, evaluated the data of around 87 million Facebook users. The results were used, among other things, for the election campaign of former US President Donald Trump. In July 2019, US federal authorities fined Facebook $5 billion for "deceiving" its users.

Since the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook has blocked access to its data for thousands of apps on suspicion of abuse and restricted the amount of data accessible to developers. In addition, it is now easier for users to restrict the sharing of their data.