Dec 17 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms ( META ) has agreed to a A$50 million settlement

($31.85 million), Australia's privacy watchdog said on Tuesday, closing long-drawn, expensive

legal proceedings for the Facebook parent over the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner had alleged that personal information

of some users was being disclosed to Facebook's personality quiz app, This is Your Digital Life,

as part of the broader scandal.

The breaches were first reported by the Guardian in early 2018, and Facebook received fines

from regulators in the United States and the UK in 2019.

Australia's privacy regulator has been caught up in the legal battle with Meta since 2020.

The personal data of 311,127 Australian Facebook users was "exposed to the risk of being

disclosed" to consulting firm Cambridge Analytica and used for profiling purposes, according to

the 2020 statement.

It convinced the high court in March 2023 to not hear an appeal, which is considered to be a

win that allowed the watchdog to continue its prosecution.

In June 2023, the country's federal court ordered Meta and the privacy commissioner to enter

mediation.

"Today's settlement represents the largest ever payment dedicated to addressing concerns

about the privacy of individuals in Australia," the Australian Information Commissioner

Elizabeth Tydd said.

Cambridge Analytica, a British consulting firm, was known to have kept personal data of

millions of Facebook users without their permission, before using the data predominantly for

political advertising, including assisting Donald Trump and the Brexit campaign in the UK.

A Meta spokesperson told Reuters that the company had settled the lawsuit in Australia on a

no admission basis, closing a chapter on allegations regarding past practices of the firm.

($1 = 1.5699 Australian dollars)