Mark Zuckerberg and other current and former Meta executives have reached a surprise settlement in a high-profile shareholder lawsuit seeking $8 billion in damages for alleged failures to protect Facebook users’ privacy. The deal abruptly ended a trial in Delaware’s Court of Chancery just as it was set to enter its second day, Reuters reported.
The case accused Zuckerberg, Meta board members including venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, and former COO Sheryl Sandberg of allowing repeated privacy violations that ultimately cost the company billions. Facebook was fined $5 billion by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2019 for breaching a 2012 consent decree to safeguard user data.
Plaintiffs alleged Meta’s leadership knowingly ignored legal obligations and enabled a system of mass data harvesting, citing scandals like the Cambridge Analytica breach. The suit aimed to make 11 individual defendants financially accountable for the resulting regulatory fallout and legal costs. Defendants denied wrongdoing and dismissed the claims as extreme.
Lawyers did not disclose settlement terms. Judge Kathaleen McCormick, who presided over the case, adjourned proceedings and congratulated the parties on the resolution. Zuckerberg and Sandberg were scheduled to testify later in the trial, which was expected to run through next week.
The lawsuit marked the first trial of so-called “Caremark” claims—a notoriously difficult type of case alleging directors failed to oversee company compliance. Even if shareholders had won, the case was likely to be appealed.
Observers noted the settlement avoids public testimony that could have further damaged Meta’s reputation. Critics, including Jason Kint of Digital Content Next, called it a “missed opportunity for public accountability.”
Meta, which was not a defendant in the case, declined to comment. The company maintains it has invested billions in improving privacy protections since 2019.
