--- title: "If You Googled Anything During the Years “30 Rock” Was on TV, You Can Get Free Money Right Now" description: "Google is required to pay out $23 million to users as part of a class action lawsuit settlement. You have until July 31 to make a claim." date: "2023-06-15" modified: "2023-06-15" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/google-free-money-now" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Future Society" - "Google" tags: - "Google" - "lawsuit" - "the digest" --- # If You Googled Anything During the Years “30 Rock” Was on TV, You Can Get Free Money Right Now ![Google is required to pay out $23 million to users as part of a class action lawsuit settlement. You have until July 31 to make a claim.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Google Greenbacks Just in case you Googled something between October 2006 and September 2013 — that's almost exactly the run of the sitcom "30 Rock," if it jogs your memory — you're entitled to a slice of a $23 million settlement. The bad news: your slice might be minuscule. According to a [website]() set up by the settlement's administrators, individual payouts will be an estimated $7.70 per person, which is roughly the cost of a large frappucino from Starbucks. We'll take it! ## Search Scratch The [lawsuit](), filed just over a decade ago, accused Google of "storing and intentionally, systematically and repeatedly divulging" users' search results and histories to third parties, a violation of privacy laws. These queries contained sensitive data, the lawsuit argued, including names, addresses, phone numbers, and even social security numbers, something that "increases the risk of identity theft." Google maintains that it didn't do anything wrong, but is now required to regularly update its FAQ to inform users how and to whom it's passing their personal data. ## Query Quid In any case, you have until July 31 to submit your claim. Ironically, you'll have to give up more of your personal info to get on the list, including your name, home address, and email. As the [*New York Times* points out](), appeals could slow down the process significantly, even if the court grants final approval in October. Last month, Facebook's parent company Meta [settled its own class action lawsuit](), requiring it to pay out $725 million to US-based users, who had an active account between May 2007 and December 2022. While it's unclear how much individual users will get, it likely won't be much, considering how many Facebook users there are. But free money is free money — we're not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth. **More on Google:** *[As Smoke Fills the Sky, Google's New AI Gives Wildly Inaccurate Info on Air Quality]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()