Meta Settles $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit, Avoiding Trial Spotlight on Zuckerberg and Executives

Settlement halts landmark trial over Facebook’s data misuse, dodging rare public scrutiny of leadership’s role in privacy breaches

Meta Platforms and CEO Mark Zuckerberg Reach Settlement to End $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit

Meta Platforms, along with CEO Mark Zuckerberg and several current and former company executives, have reached a settlement to resolve a high-stakes lawsuit that sought $8 billion in damages over repeated privacy violations on Facebook. The agreement was announced Thursday, just as the Delaware Court of Chancery trial was entering its second day.

The plaintiffs, shareholders of Meta, alleged that Zuckerberg and fellow directors—including former COO Sheryl Sandberg and prominent board member Marc Andreessen—failed in their fiduciary duties by permitting extensive breaches of user privacy, including the infamous Cambridge Analytica scandal. They sought to hold these individuals personally accountable for the billions in legal costs and fines Meta incurred, notably the record $5 billion penalty levied by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2019.

The settlement terms were not disclosed, and neither Meta nor the defendants provided immediate comment. Judge Kathaleen McCormick adjourned the trial and congratulated the parties on reaching an agreement. Plaintiffs’ lawyer Sam Closic described the settlement as coming together “quickly” before testimony resumed.

Marc Andreessen, a key figure in Silicon Valley and a Meta board member, was expected to testify Thursday, followed by Zuckerberg on Monday and Sandberg on Wednesday. The case was also slated to include testimony from high-profile former board members such as Palantir co-founder Peter Thiel and Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings.

The lawsuit accused the executives of enabling Facebook’s transformation into an “illegal data harvesting operation,” particularly for allowing third-party firms like Cambridge Analytica to access personal data of millions of users without consent. This, shareholders argued, led directly to the FTC’s historic 2019 fine—imposed for breaching a 2012 consent decree to protect user data.

Though Meta itself was not a defendant in the case, the plaintiffs hoped to recover damages directly from company leaders using their personal wealth. The defendants dismissed the claims as “extreme,” and an expert witness for the plaintiffs conceded during trial that, while Facebook’s privacy controls had “gaps and weaknesses,” he could not confirm a violation of the FTC’s 2012 agreement.

Critics say the settlement, while potentially offering closure, sidesteps a deeper reckoning. Jason Kint, CEO of the digital media trade group Digital Content Next, remarked, “This settlement may bring relief to the parties involved, but it’s a missed opportunity for public accountability.” He added that Facebook had reframed the Cambridge Analytica scandal as the fault of a few bad actors rather than confronting its surveillance-driven business model.

Meta, formerly Facebook, has maintained it has invested billions in privacy and security upgrades since 2019. Still, for many, this settlement will be seen not as vindication, but as another instance where powerful tech leaders avoid direct scrutiny over the systemic issues tied to their platforms.

While this deal prevents Zuckerberg from taking the stand, it also closes the door on what could have been a landmark trial redefining corporate accountability in the digital era.