Meta investors, Zuckerberg reach settlement to end US$8 billion trial over Facebook privacy litigation
The parties did not disclose details of the settlement and defence lawyers did not address the judge, Kathaleen McCormick of the Delaware Court of Chancery. McCormick adjourned the trial just as it was to enter its second day and she congratulated the parties.
The plaintiffs' lawyer, Sam Closic, said the agreement just came together quickly.
Billionaire venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, who is a defendant in the trial and a Meta director, was scheduled to testify on Thursday.
Shareholders of Meta sued Zuckerberg, Andreessen and other former company officials including former Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg in hopes of holding them liable for billions of dollars in fines and legal costs the company paid in recent years.
The Federal Trade Commission fined Facebook US$5 billion in 2019 after finding that it failed to comply with a 2012 agreement with the regulator to protect users' data.
The shareholders wanted the 11 defendants to use their personal wealth to reimburse the company. The defendants denied the allegations, which they called "extreme claims."
Facebook changed its name to Meta in 2021. The company was not a defendant.
The company declined to comment. A lawyer for the defendants did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
'This settlement may bring relief to the parties involved, but it's a missed opportunity for public accountability," said Jason Kint, the head of Digital Content Next, a trade group for content providers.
Zuckerberg was expected to take the stand on Monday and Sandberg on Wednesday. The trial was scheduled to run through the end of next week.
The case was also expected to include testimony from former Facebook board members Peter Thiel, Palantir Technologies co-founder, and Reed Hastings, co-founder of Netflix.
Meta investors alleged in the lawsuit that former and current board members completely failed to oversee the company's compliance with the 2012 FTC agreement and claim that Zuckerberg and Sandberg knowingly ran Facebook as an illegal data harvesting operation.
The case followed revelations that data from millions of Facebook users was accessed by Cambridge Analytica, a now-defunct political consulting firm that worked for Donald Trump's successful US presidential campaign in 2016. Those revelations led to the FTC fine, which was a record at the time.
On Wednesday, an expert witness for the plaintiffs testified about what he called "gaps and weaknesses" in Facebook's privacy policies but would not say if the company violated the 2012 agreement that Facebook reached with the FTC.
Jeffrey Zients, a former board member, testified on Wednesday that the company did not agree to the FTC fine to spare Zuckerberg legal liability, as shareholders allege.
On its website, the company has said it has invested billions of dollars into protecting user privacy since 2019.
The trial would have been a rare opportunity for Meta investors to see Zuckerberg answer probing questions under oath. In 2017, Zuckerberg was expected to testify at a trial involving a lawsuit by company investors opposed to his plan to issue a special class of Facebook stock that would have extended his control over that company. That case also settled before he took the stand.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
27 minutes ago
- CNA
Taiwan 'working around the clock' to strike US tariff deal
TAIPEI: Taiwan's trade negotiators were "working around the clock" to strike a tariff deal with the United States, the island's vice president said on Friday (Jul 18), two weeks before Washington's deadline. US President Donald Trump has given his trade partners until Aug 1 to reach an agreement with the White House or be hit with his threatened levies. The US president has so far only announced deals with Indonesia, Britain and Vietnam, alongside an agreement to temporarily lower tit-for-tat tolls with China. Taiwan faces a 32 per cent tax and possible duties on semiconductor chips, which are a key driver of the island's economy. "Our negotiators are literally working around the clock to strive to reach an agreement on reciprocal tariffs," Taiwanese Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim told journalists in Taipei. "We are certainly aiming to reach an arrangement by Aug 1." Trump in April imposed a 10 per cent tariff on almost all US trading partners, while announcing plans to eventually hike this level for dozens of countries. But days before the steeper duties were due to take effect on Jul 9, he pushed the deadline back to Aug 1. Hsiao said Friday that Taipei wanted a trade deal with Washington that "will benefit both sides". "The United States is indeed a very important trade partner for Taiwan," Hsiao said. Washington also "needs Taiwan in supporting resilient supply chains, in supporting manufacturing and some high-end technologies". "We have really counted on each other in recent years in developing our technologies, our economies and growth and prosperity," Hsiao said. Taiwan is a global powerhouse in chip manufacturing and Trump has previously accused the island of stealing the US semiconductor industry. Around 60 per cent of Taiwan's exports to the United States are information and communications technology, which includes chips.
CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
WhatsApp should prepare to leave the Russian market, influential lawmaker says
MOSCOW :WhatsApp should prepare to leave the Russian market, a lawmaker who regulates the IT sector said on Friday, warning that the messaging app owned by Meta Platforms is very likely to be put on a list of restricted software. Russian President Vladimir Putin last month signed a law authorising the development of a state-backed messaging app integrated with government services, as Moscow strives to reduce its dependence on platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram. Anton Gorelkin, deputy head of the lower house of parliament's information technology committee, said in a statement that the state-backed app could gain more market share if WhatsApp leaves.
CNA
an hour ago
- CNA
US Congress approves US$9 billion in Trump cuts to foreign aid, public media
WASHINGTON: US Republicans early on Friday (Jul 18) approved President Donald Trump's plan to cancel US$9 billion in funding for foreign aid and public broadcasting, vowing it was just the start of broader efforts by Congress to slash the federal budget. The cuts achieve only a tiny fraction of the US$1 trillion in annual savings that tech billionaire and estranged Trump donor Elon Musk vowed to find before his acrimonious exit in May from a role spearheading federal cost-cutting. But Republicans - who recently passed a domestic policy bill expected to add more than US$3 trillion to US debt - said the vote honoured Trump's election campaign pledge to rein in runaway spending. "President Trump and House Republicans promised fiscal responsibility and government efficiency," House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement just after the vote. "Today, we're once again delivering on that promise." Both chambers of Congress are Republican-controlled, meaning a mostly party-line House of Representatives vote of 216 to 213, moments after midnight, was sufficient to approve the Senate-passed measure. The bill now heads to the White House to be signed by Trump, who praised his backers in the House. "REPUBLICANS HAVE TRIED DOING THIS FOR 40 YEARS, AND FAILED... BUT NO MORE. THIS IS BIG!!!" he wrote on Truth Most of the cuts target programmes for countries hit by disease, war and natural disasters. But the move also scraps US$1.1 billion that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting was due to receive over the next two years. Conservatives say the funding - which goes mostly to more than 1,500 local public radio and TV stations, as well as to public broadcasters NPR and PBS - is unnecessary and has funded biased coverage. The bill originally included US$400 million in cuts to a global AIDS programme that is credited with saving 26 million lives, but that funding was saved by a rebellion by moderate Republicans. "DARK DAY" The vote was a win for Trump and fiscal hawks seeking to support the mission of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), launched by Musk as Trump was swept to power, for radical savings. Congress had already approved the cash that was clawed back, and Democrats framed the bill as a betrayal of the bipartisan government funding process. They fear Trump's victory clears the way for more "rescissions packages" cancelling agreed spending. "Instead of protecting the health, safety and well-being of the American people, House Republicans have once again rubber stamped Donald Trump's extreme, reckless rescissions legislation," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a joint statement with fellow top Democrats. Republicans need some Democratic votes to keep the government funded past September, and the minority party had threatened to abandon any plans for cooperation if the DOGE cuts went ahead. Jeffries and fellow Democrats seemed to suggest as much on Friday. "Tonight's vote... makes it clear that House Republicans are determined to march this country toward a painful government shutdown later this year," they said in the statement. Although they are in the minority, Democrats have leverage in funding fights because a budget deal would need at least 60 votes in the 100-member Senate and Republicans only have 53 seats. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called it "a dark day for any American who relies on public broadcasting during floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, and other disasters."
