Mark Zuckerberg settles lawsuit over Cambridge Analytica scandal, reports say

Facebook accused of manipulating user data

Mark Zuckerberg to face deposition over Cambridge Analytica

04:45

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other board members of the social media giant settled a shareholder lawsuit Thursday, a day after a trial began in court over an $8 billion class-action lawsuit linked to the 2018 privacy scandal involving Cambridge Analytica, according to AFP. 

In an email to CBS News, Meta declined to comment on the settlement but pointed out that the lawsuit “was a suit against Mark Zuckerberg and directors personally, not Meta Platforms.”

The $8 billion class-action lawsuit against Zuckerberg and other Meta leaders began on Wednesday, with investors claiming that the company didn’t fully disclose the risks that Facebook users’ personal information would be misused by political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica. 

Shareholders claim Facebook officials repeatedly and continually violated a 2012 consent order with the Federal Trade Commission under which Facebook agreed to stop collecting and sharing personal data on platform users and friends without their consent.

Facebook later sold user data to commercial partners in direct violation of the consent order and removed disclosures from privacy settings that were required under consent order, the lawsuit alleges.

The settlement comes the same day that Marc Andreessen, co-founder of venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and a Meta board member, was due to take the stand, the AFP reported.

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Aimee Picchi is the associate managing editor for CBS MoneyWatch, where she covers business and personal finance. She previously worked at Bloomberg News and has written for national news outlets including USA Today and Consumer Reports.

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