Meta Settles $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit Over Facebook Data Misuse

Meta Platforms and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg have reached a settlement to end a massive $8 billion lawsuit filed by shareholders, who claimed the company’s top leadership failed to protect user privacy.

The lawsuit centered on Meta’s alleged violations of a 2012 Federal Trade Commission (FTC) agreement that required Facebook to safeguard user data. According to the plaintiffs, Meta executives, including Zuckerberg and former COO Sheryl Sandberg, ran the platform in a way that ignored that order, ultimately enabling the Cambridge Analytica scandal to unfold.

That 2019 episode revealed that personal data from millions of users had been accessed without consent for political targeting. The fallout included a record $5 billion fine from the FTC.

The Delaware trial had just entered its second day when news of a confidential settlement abruptly ended the proceedings. While Meta avoids further legal exposure, critics say the company essentially paid to avoid accountability, leaving questions about corporate responsibility unresolved.

Neither the settlement terms nor any executive admissions of wrongdoing have been made public.