Washington, D.C. just announced a new lawsuit against Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg alleging his role in Cambridge Analytica’s Facebook data misuse — claiming it has evidence that Facebook founder People were personally involved in the failure that led to the event.
The district charged Zuckerberg with violating the Consumer Protection Procedures Act (CPPA) and sought to hold him personally liable for his failure to protect Facebook users’ information from a data analytics firm that the tech giant’s employees called “sloppy” in an internal email in 2015 — though Facebook didn’t suspend Cambridge Analytica’s account until a few years later after the scandal spread around the world.
The lawsuit also alleges that Facebook misled consumers into believing that their information was safe in its hands. According to the complaint, the district said it obtained forensic evidence related to Zuckerberg — also related to Cambridge Analytica — in a separate lawsuit filed in December 2018 against the company now known as Meta.
The data-analytics firm infamously attempted to extract information on Facebook users in an attempt to predict voter habits in order to deliver targeted ads for Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign — without the knowledge or consent of most users. case do so.
When the story turned into a global scandal in 2018, it hammered Facebook’s stock price and led the company to claim it was going through a series of privacy audits and reforms. Although the tech giant has been quiet in detailing any follow-up.
An investigation by Britain’s data protection watchdog led to a £500,000 fine in mid-2018, which later turned into a settlement, with Facebook paying the fine but not admitting responsibility.
In July 2019, it also reached a settlement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which had been reviewing whether the scandal violated the 2012 consent decree under which Facebook promised better privacy for user data. Protection — The tech giant has warned some industry watchers that it looks like a “get out of jail card” for its top executives.
At the time, two dissenting FTC commissioners slammed the settlement, arguing that it gave top Facebook executives sweeping immunity related to their roles in the scandal and gave the company sanction for known and unknown violations. Broad exemption.
So it’s basically up to the state attorneys general to pursue public interest lawsuits over the scandal — including an attempt to file a complaint against Facebook founder Zuckerberg.
“Our investigation reveals substantial evidence that Zuckerberg was personally involved in the failure of Cambridge Analytica,” Washington, D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine announced the new lawsuit on Twitter on Monday.
“This lawsuit is not only justified but necessary.” He added: “Misleading consumers, exposing their data, and the consequences of breaking the law, not only for companies that violate this trust but also for corporate high-level Tube.”
It remains to be seen whether Cambridge Analytica’s latest complaint will make its way to court.
Washington, D.C. tried last year to name Zuckerberg as a named defendant in its earlier lawsuit, but in March a Superior Court judge dismissed the request — which may explain why it has now filed a new complaint. Previous proceedings have been dragged on by disputes over jurisdiction and disputes over evidence.
Meta was asked to comment on Washington, D.C. Attorney General Racine’s latest lawsuit announcement, but spokesman Andy Stone declined to comment immediately.