Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg sued by Washington, DC AG

Washington D.C., First Published Could 23, 2022, 7:50 PM IST

The Cambridge Analytica scandal returned to haunt Meta aka Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg with Washington District of Columbia Attorney Normal Karl A Racine asserting that his workplace is suing the social media behemoth's founder for his role in Facebook's deceptive privateness practices and failure to guard millions of customers' knowledge.

The AG's case seeks to carry Zuckerberg accountable for his function in Fb violating the District's consumer protection laws by misrepresenting the protection of consumer knowledge and their blatant disregard and misuse of sensitive, personal data belonging to District residents.

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In a series of Tweets, Racine mentioned: "Our investigation shows in depth proof that Zuckerberg was personally concerned in failures that led to the Cambridge Analytica incident."

The AG's complaint notes that 'Facebook has change into a wildly profitable and unique enterprise, deriving huge wealth from buying and monetizing the info of those billions of individuals leading their lives in Facebook's digital ecosystem.'

The criticism additional claims that 'Fb -- at Zuckerberg's direction -- shifted its business model on this manner because it recognized that it could be much more profitable if it may harness and promote the flexibility to dependably affect its customers' behaviour to third parties. Facebook, subsequently, inspired (and, at times, teamed up with) developers and researchers to gather and analyze Fb user data in order that it might better discover ways to manipulate its personal customers’ moods and influence what they buy and even whether or not and how they vote.

Cambridge Analytica Case

In March 2018, whistleblower Christopher Wylie publicly revealed that a company called Cambridge Analytica -- a London-based electioneering firm -- exfiltrated the non-public data of more than 70 million Facebook customers in america with a purpose to affect the outcomes of the 2016 United States presidential election. 

This data trove included Fb users’ ages, interests, pages they have liked, teams they belong to, bodily places, political affiliation, spiritual affiliation, relationships, and pictures, as well as their full names, phone numbers, and electronic mail addresses.

The non-public knowledge of the more than 70 million US Fb customers that Cambridge Analytica used to govern the election accounted for more than half the full votes through the 2016 presidential elections, in an election that was successfully decided by just a few hundred thousand people. 

Three years later, Fb and Zuckerberg publicly condemned Cambridge Analytica's knowledge collection, which in response to AG Racine, only demonstrates that what they are saying publicly is a part of an intentional plan to mask the devastating consequences of their actions.

The Allegations

Specializing in the Cambridge Analytica case, the complaint accused Facebook of actively encouraging companies like Cambridge Analytica to make use of the platform to affect and manipulate client behaviour.

'What's most troubling is that Facebook appeared into Cambridge Analytica and determined that it posed a danger to shopper information however selected to bury those issues slightly than stop them, as that could have harm Fb’s (and Zuckerberg’s) backside line. Instead of coming clear, Facebook continued to help Cambridge Analytica win a United States presidential election,' the criticism stated.

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Last Updated Could 23, 2022, 7:51 PM IST