A shareholder lawsuit targeting Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other top executives has reached a settlement, following allegations that the company mishandled user data and violated federal privacy agreements.
Investors claimed Meta failed to disclose the risks of personal data misuse by Cambridge Analytica, a political consulting firm tied to Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign. The lawsuit alleged repeated violations of a 2012 consent order with the Federal Trade Commission, which prohibited Facebook from collecting and sharing user data without consent.
According to court filings, Facebook not only sold user data to commercial partners but also removed required privacy disclosures — actions that led to a $5.1 billion FTC penalty and additional fines in Europe. The company also paid $725 million to settle a separate privacy lawsuit with users.
Shareholders sought reimbursement of over $8 billion in legal costs and fines from Zuckerberg, former COO Sheryl Sandberg, and other board members including Marc Andreessen and Peter Thiel. Sandberg was previously sanctioned for deleting emails related to the investigation, while former director Jeffrey Zients testified in support of the FTC settlement.
Meta declined to comment on the settlement, and attorneys exited the courtroom without addressing the press.