Settlement for Facebook – Cambridge Analytica scandal?
One of the more spectacular privacy scandals seems to be on its way to a settlement. Facebook-owner Meta has asked a US court to put a class action concerning the Cambridge Analytica privacy leak on hold for 60 days until lawyers and Facebook can finalise a written statement. Without a settlement it is difficult to see how CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his former chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg could avoid embarrassing time in court.
A spokesperson for Meta declined to make a statement at this time, Reuters news agency reports. The size of the proposed settlement is not known.
The class action is about how a Facebook app harvested personal information of up to 87 million Facebook users and their social media friends. The data was made available to company Cambridge Analytica that provided analysis services to, among others, candidates in the US presidential elections 2016.
The scandal was disclosed in 2018 when a former employee at Cambridge Analytics was interviewed by The New York Times and the Guardian. Facebook apologised, Zuckerberg testified in front of the US Congress and the company paid fines to the US Federal Trade Commission for privacy violations.
The class action, that now seems to be heading for a settlement, is accusing Facebook of illegally having shared personal data with Cambridge Analytica that was going to build psychologic profiles of voters in the presidential elections.
Cambridge Analytica had offices in London, New York City, and Washington, DC. Cambridge Analytica closed operations in 2018 following the scandal.
Moonshot News is an independent European news website for all IT, Media and Advertising professionals, powered by women and with a focus on driving the narrative for diversity, inclusion and gender equality in the industry.
Our mission is to provide top and unbiased information for all professionals and to make sure that women get their fair share of voice in the news and in the spotlight!
We produce original content, news articles, a curated calendar of industry events and a database of women IT, Media and Advertising associations.
