OAKLAND, California – Most Californians are now eligible for a class-action settlement and could receive between $19 and $48 after two Oakland activists and Thomson Reuters reached $27.5 million through the platform to Clear.

U.S. District Court Judge Edward M. Chen tentatively approved the settlement in the Northern District of California on October 11. Chen will decide whether to finalize the deal on February 13, 2025.

Law firms Gibbs Law Group and Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll filed the lawsuit in 2020 on behalf of Cat Brooks and Rasheed Shabazz, alleging that Thomson Reuters collected millions of personal and confidential information on California residents and then sold access to to these. without their knowledge or consent.

Thomson Reuters is best known for its news agency, Reuters, and its online legal research service, Westlaw.

But the company makes money in another, less well-known way: It collects photos, identifying information and personal data — without their consent — and sells that information to law enforcement, corporations and government agencies through a platform called Clear, the suit claims.

The company advertises that Clear allows its users to access “both surface and deep web data to examine information” about people “not found in public records or traditional search engines.”

“Because of CLEAR, Californians’ identities are being put up for sale without their knowledge,” the lawsuit states, “let alone consent.”

The company, which has not admitted wrongdoing, also agreed to limit the data it keeps on state residents and make it easier to delete that data.

Brooks founded the Anti-Police Terror Project in Oakland, and Shabaaz is a creative cultural communicator and former board member at the Alameda Museum.

In the lawsuit, Brooks said she has been a target of white supremacist groups because of her activism in black and brown communities and is very concerned that her personal identity is being shared.

“The settlement accomplishes what I hoped for when I decided to bring this case,” Shabazz said in a statement. “It’s easier for Californians to learn about CLEAR. It’s easier for Californians to get their information from CLEAR. And it requires Thomson Reuters to take steps to protect the privacy of Californians as they operate CLEAR.”

Brooks added, “This settlement will help other Californians learn about CLEAR and more easily remove their information from CLEAR and the sources that provide it.”

Brooks and Shabazz are set to earn $5,000 each, pending the judge’s approval.

The deadline for submitting an application is December 6. Anyone who has lived in California at any time since December 3, 2016, can qualify. Learn more and submit a claim here: