SC Allows Multibillion-Dollar Class Suit Against Meta to Proceed

The Supreme Court has allowed a multibillion-dollar class-action lawsuit against Facebook parent company Meta to proceed, following the privacy scandal involving the Cambridge Analytica political consulting firm, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

Investors allege that Meta failed to adequately disclose the risks that Facebook users’ personal information might be misused by Cambridge Analytica. I Photo: Mark Zuckerberg Facebook

Meta had sought to block the lawsuit, but the justices decided they were wrong to take up the case in the first place.

On Friday, the court dismissed the company’s appeal, leaving intact an appellate ruling that permits the case to move forward.

Investors allege that Meta failed to adequately disclose the risks that Facebook users’ personal information might be misused by Cambridge Analytica, which supported Donald Trump’s successful 2016 Republican presidential campaign.

The insufficient disclosures reportedly led to two significant drops in Meta’s stock price in 2018 after the extent of the privacy scandal became public.

Meta spokesperson Andy Stone expressed disappointment in the court’s decision. “The plaintiff’s claims are baseless, and we will continue to defend ourselves as this case proceeds in District Court,” Stone said in an emailed statement.