The Ontario Superior Court has approved the Class Action Settlement in the lawsuit against Yahoo! Inc. and Yahoo! Canada Co. The lawsuit was filed by the class members in response to data breaches that affected the company between 2013 and 2016.
The lawsuit alleged that Yahoo failed to implement adequate security measures to protect users’ personal information. The plaintiffs argued that Yahoo’s negligence led to the breaches, posing a substantial risk and inconvenience to the affected account holders.
Yahoo denied any wrongdoing but agreed to the settlement to avoid further litigation. These breaches exposed sensitive user information, including names, email addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, hashed passwords, and, in some cases, encrypted or unencrypted security questions and answers.
Who Is Eligible for Compensation, and How Much?
If you are a Canadian resident who had a Yahoo account between January 1, 2012, and December 31, 2016, you may be eligible to file a claim. The settlement provides two categories of compensation. For category A, the court has ordered $4 million to be given in the claim.
Category A
- Users who incurred expenses within four months of receiving any data breach notices can claim cash reimbursement.
- Compensation includes $25 per hour for a maximum of five hours spent mitigating the impact of the breaches, up to a total of 15 hours. This means you can claim up to $375 if you were affected by all three breaches.
- Users who paid for premium ad-free email services or Aabaco Small Business services between August 1, 2013, and December 31, 2016, can claim 25% of those costs.
Category B
- Users can claim up to five hours of wasted time and inconvenience for each of the three breaches, totalling up to $375 ($125 per breach).
Yahoo Canada Data Breach Timeline
Between 2013 and 2016, Yahoo experienced several significant data breaches that compromised the personal information of millions of its account holders. Here’s a breakdown of the incidents:
- 2013 Breach: On December 14, 2016, Yahoo revealed that this breach had impacted over a billion user accounts.
- 2014 Breach: On September 22, 2016, Yahoo disclosed that this breach had affected 500 million accounts.
- 2015-2016 Breaches: In February 2017, Yahoo confirmed that these breaches had compromised a significant number of accounts, although the exact number was not specified.
How to Submit Your Claim against Yahoo Canada Settlement?
To submit a claim, you’ll need to provide your Yahoo email address and documentation of any expenses incurred. The deadline for submitting claims is December 27, 2024. Claims can be filed online by visiting here, or you can request a paper claim form by calling 1-866-808-8075.
If Class Action Members do not submit their claim forms by the deadline, they will be excluded from the settlement amount and will not be entitled to any benefits from the amount. They were also given the option to opt out from it or object to it.
