Zuckerberg escapes Cambridge Analytica deposition

Alongside Facebook’s CEO, Sheryl Sandberg, Zucks avoided a grilling after Meta reached a settlement agreement with the plaintiffs. 

Lucky Zucky

As the Cambridge Analytica deposition rolled around, we’d imagine Mark Zuckerberg was feeling the heat. Facebook was found to have illegally shared user data with a bunch of third parties, including the infamous firm that worked for Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, which scraped data from millions of profiles without user permissions. It was not Facebook’s finest moment.

But with Zucks and Sheryl Sandberg set to sit down and take the flack, Meta’s legal team has swooped in to save their blushes, reaching a settlement agreement that puts a stop to any deposition. A shame – oh how we do like to see Mark squirm. 

What’s the deal?

While Facebook’s top dogs are off the hook, what hasn’t yet been revealed is the cost of the settlement. But having already paid billions to the Federal Trade Commission, we can expect that the company won’t get off lightly.

Plenty of criticism came Meta’s way even after it changed its policies in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Its deception of users had real-life consequences, and plaintiffs alleged that the policy changes only came “in the wake of regulatory and governmental outrage,” rather than them being good guys. Who’d have thought it?

Regardless, Zuckerberg has paid his way out of this one. But at what cost?