Facebook to Settle Suit Alleging Inflated Ad Viewing Figures

Facebook has opted to settle a class action lawsuit in which plaintiffs alleged that the social media giant overstated the viewership on its paid ads. The original allegation was that the metrics were inflated by 60 to 80 percent, but according to an amended complaint, Facebook knew about the problem far longer than previously alleged, and “Facebook’s records also show that the impact of its miscalculation was much more severe than reported. The average viewership metrics were not inflated by only 60 percent-80 percent; they were inflated by some 150 to 900 percent.” Facebook’s response was that those calculations came from selective information from internal discussions and documents produced during discovery, and argued for dismissal based on the lack of any allegation that the ad agencies actually saw the erroneous metrics and because of them made decisions to buy Facebook video ads. The suit was allowed to proceed, but now the parties are requesting a pause in the litigation in light of a settlement that was reached after mediation. A Facebook spokesperson said, “This lawsuit is without merit but we believe resolving this case is in the best interests of the company and advertisers.”