DC Attorney General sues Mark Zuckerberg over the Cambridge Analytica scandal
Kris Holt
·Contributing Reporter
Mon, May 23, 2022,
Erin Scott / Reuters
Meta's Cambridge Analytica woes are far from over. Karl Racine, the Attorney General of the District of Columbia, has sued Mark Zuckerberg. He accused the Meta CEO of having a direct hand in making the decisions that led to the major data breach.
Racine claims that Zuckerberg "contributed to Facebook’s lax oversight of user data and implementation of misleading privacy agreements." That, according to the suit, allowed consulting firm Cambridge Analytica to acquire personal data on more than 70 million Americans, including more than 340,000 DC residents. The company allegedly used the data to help sway voters in the 2016 presidential election through political ad targeting.
The AG previously sued Meta (then known as Facebook) over the scandal in 2018. That case is still ongoing. This time, Racine is targeting Zuckerberg directly. Under the jurisdiction's Consumer Protection Procedures Act, which bans unfair and deceptive trade practices, individuals are liable for a company's actions that they were aware of, controlled or failed to stop.
Racine is seeking a jury trial against Zuckerberg. He wants Meta's CEO to refrain from future CPPA violations and to pay damages and civil penalties. Engadget has contacted Meta for comment.
“Since filing our landmark lawsuit against Facebook, my office has fought tooth and nail against the company's characteristic efforts to resist producing documents and otherwise thwart our suit. We continue to persist and have followed the evidence right to Mr. Zuckerberg," Racine said in a statement. “This unprecedented security breach exposed tens of millions of Americans’ personal information, and Mr. Zuckerberg’s policies enabled a multi-year effort to mislead users about the extent of Facebook's wrongful conduct. This lawsuit is not only warranted, but necessary, and sends a message that corporate leaders, including CEOs, will be held accountable for their actions.
DC attorney general sues Mark Zuckerberg, claims CEO was 'personally involved' in privacy failures
The attorney general for Washington, D.C. filed a lawsuit against Meta (FB) CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Monday, accusing him of being personally responsible for the massive Cambridge Analytica data breach.
In the suit, Attorney General Karl Racine alleges that Zuckerberg's failure to oversee consumers' data privacy led to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which a political consulting firm used millions of Facebook users' data, without their knowledge, in an attempt to sway the 2016 election in favor of Donald Trump.
"The evidence shows Mr. Zuckerberg was personally involved in Facebook’s failure to protect the privacy and data of its users leading directly to the Cambridge Analytica incident," Racine said in a statement.
The civil suit, filed in Superior Court of the District of Columbia, claims Zuckerberg violated the Consumer Protection Procedures Act, the District's general consumer protection law.
"This unprecedented security breach exposed tens of millions of Americans’ personal information, and Mr. Zuckerberg’s policies enabled a multi-year effort to mislead users about the extent of Facebook's wrongful conduct. This lawsuit is not only warranted, but necessary, and sends a message that corporate leaders, including CEOs, will be held accountable for their actions,” Racine said.
Meta has been at the center of a maelstrom of controversy since news of Cambridge Analytica first broke. In 2019, the Federal Trade Commission ordered Facebook to pay a $5 billion fine related to the scandal. Governments and regulators across the globe, including the FTC, are also cracking down on the social media giant via antitrust suits and legislation.
According to Racine, the latest suit against Zuckerberg comes as a result of an existing investigation and lawsuit his office filed against Facebook in the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2018.
Racine claims that because Zuckerberg holds the largest number of shares of Meta and has final say over everything that happens at the company, he is ultimately responsible for Facebook's day-to-day operations. As a result, Racine claims, Zuckerberg is also responsible for the events that led to the scandal.
According to University of Pittsburgh School of Law professor, Peter Oh, it's unclear how strong the case against Zuckerberg may be.
“One clear possibility here is that this may be a lawsuit that could be politically motivated by the attorney general. On the other hand, there’s potentially a very legitimate reason why the attorney general may be deciding to do this,” Oh told Yahoo Finance.
If Racine’s complaint survives, Oh explained, it has the potential to be a wake-up call for the Meta CEO, as he could be personally liable.
And there’s real risk that the case will move forward, Oh said, given that Zuckerberg has a history of vouching for the actions of the company.
“Zuckerberg has publicly stated, effectively, that the buck stops with him — that he runs the company, he owns the company, and therefore, he should be held accountable for what the company does. I think what you can say is that with this particular lawsuit the attorney general is calling his bluff,” Oh said.
A spokesperson for Meta told Yahoo Finance that the company had no comment.
This isn't the first time Racine has gone after Zuckerberg personally. He previously attempted to name the CEO personally responsible for the user data leak in a 2018 suit related to Cambridge Analytica. The judge in that case, however, dismissed the move, saying that Racine waited too long to name Zuckerberg in the case.
Since the 2018 suit filed by Racine, Facebook has changed its name. In October 2021, Facebook rebranded as Meta with the goal of focusing the company on the metaverse, though some commentators suspect the name change was a means for Facebook to distance itself from its ongoing legal troubles.
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