Meta’s Cambridge Analytica woes are far from over. Karl Racine, the Attorney General of the District of Columbia, has sued Mark Zuckerberg. He accused the Meta CEO of having a direct hand in making the decisions that led to the major data breach.
Racine claims that Zuckerberg “contributed to Facebook’s lax oversight of user data and implementation of deceptive privacy agreements.” That, according to the lawsuit, enabled consulting firm Cambridge Analytica to obtain personal information from more than 70 million Americans, including more than 340,000 DC residents. The company allegedly used the data to convince voters in the 2016 presidential election through political ad targeting.
The AG previously sued Meta (then known as Facebook) over the scandal in 2018. That case is still pending. This time, Racine is targeting Zuckerberg directly. Under the jurisdiction’s Consumer Protection Procedures Act, which prohibits unfair and deceptive business practices, individuals are liable for the actions of a company that they knew about, controlled, or were unable to stop.
Racine is seeking a jury trial against Zuckerberg. He wants Meta’s CEO to waive future CPPA violations and pay damages and civil fines. Engadget has reached out to Meta for comment.
“Since filing our landmark lawsuit against Facebook, my office has fought tooth and nail against the company’s signature efforts to resist producing documents and otherwise thwart our lawsuit. We continue to persevere and have followed Mr. Zuckerberg’s evidence of evidence,” Racine said in a statement. †
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