META CEO Zuckerberg 'personally' sued over Cambridge Analytica data breach by DC AG

Washington DC attorney general Karl Racine on Monday filed a lawsuit against Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, holding him "personally responsible" for the Cambridge Analytica data breach scandal. According to a statement by Racine, Zuckerberg's policies led to an "unprecedented security breach" exposing the personal information of "tens and millions of Americans" during the 2016 election cycle. Racine alleged that the platform created by Zuckerberg "enabled a multi-year effort to mislead users about the extent of Facebook's wrongful conduct."

For the unversed, the litigation against Zuckerberg alleges that he directly participated or orchestrated in provisions that allowed data firm Cambridge Analytica to access intricate data of US voters to help Donald Trump in the 2016 elections campaign. "The lawsuit is not only warranted but necessary," Racine said. "It sends the message that corporate leaders including chief executives will be held accountable for their actions," the statement by Racine stressed. The founder and board chief "maintains an unparalleled level of control over the operations of Facebook as it has grown into the largest social media company in the world," the lawsuit said.

Zuckerberg holds over 50% share of Facebook's voting shares since 2012. The parent company of Facebook, Meta, which also owns Instagram and WhatsApp, has an estimated market value of over $500 billion. The spokesperson for Meta, Andy Stone has refused to comment on the matter.

The lawsuit claims Zuckerberg was aware of the potential dangers

District of Columbia attorney general Karl Racine also alleged that Mark Zuckerberg was well aware of the potential dangers of allowing data access to an analytics company. In one of the emails accessed by the plaintiff, Zuckerberg also acknowledged that "there is clear risk on the advertisers' side", Racine noted in the previously slapped filed suit against Meta under Consumer Protection Procedures Act. The Act holds individuals responsible for breach if aware of it. He further claimed that the Facebook head's idea to open up the social media platform to the third party resulted in the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The suit is also based on a bunch of documents and depositions from whistleblowers against Meta. "At all times relevant to the lawsuit, evidence should Mr. Zuckerberg was responsible for and had the clear ability to control Facebook's day-to-day operations," Racine said.

(Image: AP)