(NEXSTAR) – The deadline is fast approaching for people to request a piece of the $115 million settlement fund Oracle agreed to pay out, settling claims it violated many people’s privacy by selling their information to third parties.
The deadline to file a claim in the class action settlement is Thursday, Oct. 17 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time.
What is the lawsuit about?
Oracle is one of the largest tech companies in the U.S., but people may not be familiar with the company’s software products. A lot of their work happens behind the scenes and isn’t always customer-facing. For example, banks may use Oracle software to manage databases of their customers and customers’ transactions, hospitals may use it to store patient records, and retail businesses may use it for inventory and sales.
The lawsuit claims that through all these databases and softwares, Oracle tracks the personal information of “hundreds of millions of people,” including their search history, purchases and location.
The lawsuit alleges that Oracle sells the personal information it collects to other companies, but because people “lack a direct relationship with Oracle,” they don’t have any way to even consent to the information being shared.
Oracle maintains it hasn’t done anything wrong, but it has agreed to the $115 million payout sum.
Who can file a claim?
You’re eligible for a payment if you lived in the U.S. for some period since Aug. 19, 2018 and your personal data “was acquired, captured, or otherwise collected by Oracle Advertising technologies or made available for use or sale by or through ID Graph, Data Marketplace, or any other Oracle Advertising product or service.”
That definition can make it hard to know if you qualify, since it’s not easy to know if your data was impacted.
Some of the affected people have already been notified by email, but you don’t necessarily need to have been contacted to file a claim. You can simply fill out a form with your name, address and contact information. If your claim is validated, you’ll receive a payment on a prepaid debit card, direct deposit, Venmo or Zelle.
The payments won’t go out until the settlement is granted final court approval. The final approval hearing is scheduled for Nov. 14. Appeals and objections may also delay the payments.