Adkins
Adkins v. Facebook, Inc.
Opinion
Trial Court Opinion
INTRODUCTION
17 In this data-breach class action, plaintiffs move for preliminary approval of a class 18 settlement agreement. The proposal appearing non-collusive and within the realm of 19 approvable, the motion is GRANTED.
STATEMENT
21 This case arises from the September 2018 hack of Facebook. A prior order detailed the 22 facts (Dkt. No. 153). In brief, certain access tokens permitted access to Facebook users’ 23 accounts, but a previously unknown vulnerability made these tokens sometimes visible to 24 strangers. Hackers exploited this flaw in September 2018 to access 300,000 accounts. Once 25 inside, the hackers ran two search queries. The first yielded the names and telephone numbers 26 and/or e-mail addresses of fifteen million users worldwide (2.7 million in the United States). 27 The second yielded more sensitive information on fourteen million users worldwide (1.2 million in the United States), including the original 300,000. In February 2019, five named plaintiffs filed a consolidated complaint asserting several claims. Following consolidation and motion practice, in August 2019, only one named plaintiff, Stephen Adkins, and two…