Meta finally settles a lawsuit that has been a thorn in its side ever since its inception. This lawsuit was mainly centered around the Cambridge Analytica Scandal which unraveled in 2018.
Cambridge Analytica at the time was a data analytics that mislead users through a survey app called MyDigitalLife. It would analyze the data collected and use it to create targeted advertisements that would influence users to vote for Trump in the 2016 election.
This incident created a wave of investigations in not just Facebook but other social media giants at the time who would then testify in front of congress on privacy laws. This was in many analysts’ opinion the defining moment for Meta which was named Facebook at the time.
Meta tried to fight the lawsuit but was unsuccessful as the evidence against it was too much. This current settlement marks the largest recovery ever achieved in a data privacy class action and the most Meta has ever paid to end a private class action lawsuit.
Even though the settlement is yet to finalize, it is expected to conclude on a follow-up heading on March 2, 2023.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg is also being sued, but this time by Washington, D.C. alleging that Mr. Zuckerberg is solely responsible for the scandal and he should’ve had some oversight on the overall operation at the time.
