About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

76 Stan. L. Rev. Online 1 (2023)

handle is hein.journals/slro76 and id is 1 raw text is: ESSAY The Class Action Megaphone: Empowering Class Members with an Empirical Voice Alissa del Riego & Joseph Avery' Introduction Class actions have been dominating headlines, both in mainstream outlets1 and scholarly ones.2 Just one settlement that was recently reached on behalf of Facebook users impacts a diverse group of all U.S.-based Facebook users from 2007 to 2022.3 On a surface level, lawsuits like this one appear to further one of the primary justifications for the class action mechanism: representation. Yet, if by representation we mean access to justice and furthering plaintiffs' interests and aims, especially those pertaining to legislative or legal norm shaping,4 then these lawsuits, in the end, might be self-defeating. After all, for those of us who were Facebook users, we may feel genuinely harmed that, without our permission, Facebook mined our data and made it accessible to third parties, including Cambridge Analytica. But are we satisfied with the * Alissa del Riego is an Assistant Professor, University of Miami Herbert Business School. J.D., Harvard Law School; B.A., University of Miami. Joseph Avery is Assistant Professor, University of Miami Herbert Business School, University of Miami Department of Psychology. J.D., Columbia Law School; Ph.D., Princeton University; M.A., Princeton University; B.A., New York University. 1. See, e.g., Adam Liptak, Supreme Court Won't Block Student Loan Class-Action Settlement, N.Y. TIMES (Apr. 13, 2023), https://perma.cc/2L8M-U4B8. 2. See, e.g., Nicholas Almendares, The Undemocratic Class Action, 100 WASH. U. L. REV. 611 (2023); Peter N. Salib, Artificially Intelligent Class Actions, 100 TEX. L. REV. 519 (2022); Xiyin Tang, The Class Action as Licensing and Reform Device, 122 COLUM. L. REV. 1627 (2022). 3. Plaintiffs' Notice of Motion and Motion for Final Settlement Approval, In re Facebook, Inc. Consumer Privacy User Profile Litig., 3:18-md-02843 (N.D. Cal. July 11, 2023), ECF No. 1145 at 3-4; see also Facebook Users in the United States of America, NAPOLEONCAT., June 2023, https://perma.cc/BW5A-UX7Q. 4. Andrew Faisman, Note, The Goals of Class Actions, 121 COLUM. L. REV. 2157, 2175-77 (2021). 1

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most