Meta Leaders Settle $8B Data Misuse Lawsuit

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and several current and former directors, including Marc Andreessen and Sheryl Sandberg, have reached a confidential settlement with shareholders in an $8 billion lawsuit alleging repeated privacy violations related to the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The lawsuit accused Meta leaders of failing to enforce a 2012 FTC consent decree, which resulted in a $5 billion FTC fine in 2019. Shareholders sought to hold the executives personally liable for the fines and legal costs, alleging they knowingly permitted illegal data practices. Defendants denied these claims as 'extreme.' The settlement abruptly ended the Delaware trial soon after it began, allowing the executives to avoid testifying. Meta and its legal team have declined to comment on the terms of the settlement.