Meta, Mark Zuckerberg Reach Deal to Settle $8 Billion Facebook Privacy Lawsuit

Meta Platforms, CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other former directors have agreed to settle a $8 billion lawsuit tied to Facebook’s alleged past user privacy violations, according to a Reuters report published Thursday.

Facebook Privacy Battle Comes to a Close

The litigation stemmed from accusations that company leaders, including Zuckerberg and former COO Sheryl Sandberg, failed to protect Facebook users’ privacy, leading to repeated violations. 

The lawsuit, which had reached a tipping point in Delaware’s Court of Chancery, was filed by Meta shareholders who’d alleged that Zuckerberg and other key figures, including venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, were responsible for millions of dollars in fines and legal costs.

In 2019, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) had fined Facebook $5 billion for non-compliance with a 2012 agreement to protect user data, as reported by Reuters.

On Thursday, a lawyer for the investors told a Delaware judge that both sides had reached a deal.

“The parties have reached a settlement agreement,” Sam Closic confirmed in court  while noting that the agreement “came together quickly,” per the US-based news agency.

What Are the Accusations Against Meta’s Leadership?

Meta’s shareholders say that Zuckerberg, Sandberg and others knowingly ran Facebook as a “data harvesting operation,” disregarding user privacy. The plaintiffs also cited the Cambridge Analytica scandal, as part of which the political consulting firm had reportedly accessed millions of users’ data without consent, which in turn led to the firm staring at record $5 billion in FTC fine.

Key figures such as Peter Thiel and Reed Hastings, both former board members, were expected to testify. While an expert witness underlined gaps in Facebook’s privacy policies, the individual stopped short of confirming any violations of the FTC agreement, the report said.

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