A federal judge has officially sanctioned former Meta Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, ruling that she must face consequences for allegedly deleting emails relevant to a high-stakes class-action lawsuit regarding the company’s privacy practices.
The Core of the Privacy Dispute
At the root of the courtroom battle are allegations that Meta officials violated a 2012 Federal Trade Commission (FTC) order under which the company agreed to stop collecting and sharing Facebook users’ personal data without their consent. Facebook allegedly later sold the data to commercial partners, including political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica; it was also accused of removing disclosures from privacy settings that were required under the FTC’s order.
A History of Regulatory Penalties
In 2019, Meta agreed to pay the FTC $5 billion to settle charges that the company violated the 2012 order. The company has also paid penalties from regulators in Europe.
