Meta Settles Cambridge Analytica-Related Claims for $190 Million

Mark Zuckerberg and other Meta Platforms directors agreed to a $190 million settlement of claims they failed to rectify repeated violations of Facebook users’ privacy and improperly engineered an accord to shield the billionaire chief executive officer from personal liability. The amount of the settlement had been sealed since a trial was halted in July. A lawsuit by Meta investors claimed board members mishandled the Cambridge Analytica data privacy scandal and improperly agreed to a $5 billion Federal Trade Commission settlement to personally protect Zuckerberg. Meta shareholders sought at least $7 billion in damages, arguing directors wrongfully overpaid in the FTC deal to prevent Zuckerberg from digging into his own pocket to cover some of the financial hit to the company. The accord, which will be paid by an insurance policy covering Meta directors, amounts to a recovery of 3%. In a court filing, the company denied wrongdoing and said the settlement wasn’t an admission that it was liable.