Mark Zuckerberg
Share this @internewscast.com


Mark Zuckerberg

Mark Zuckerberg at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) 2020

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was “personally involved” in the Cambridge Analytica scandal and “encouraged” the manipulation of the 2016 presidential election, D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine alleged in a lawsuit filed Monday.

Racine previously made such allegations late last year, when he asked a D.C. judge to add the tech billionaire to a still-pending lawsuit against Facebook.

After Superior Court Judge Maurice Ross rejected a motion to amend the lawsuit, Racine filed a separate lawsuit against Zuckerberg on Monday. Ross criticized the delay in the request to add Zuckerberg as a defendant, but the attorney general’s office reportedly justified it on what surfaced during discovery against Facebook.

“Since filing our landmark lawsuit against Facebook, my office has fought tooth and nail against the company’s characteristic efforts to resist producing documents and otherwise thwart our suit. We continue to persist and have followed the evidence right to Mr. Zuckerberg,” Racine wrote in a statement. “The evidence shows Mr. Zuckerberg was personally involved in Facebook’s failure to protect the privacy and data of its users leading directly to the Cambridge Analytica incident. This unprecedented security breach exposed tens of millions of Americans’ personal information, and Mr. Zuckerberg’s policies enabled a multi-year effort to mislead users about the extent of Facebook’s wrongful conduct. This lawsuit is not only warranted, but necessary, and sends a message that corporate leaders, including CEOs, will be held accountable for their actions.”

In a 37-page complaint, Racine did not flinch from implicating Zuckerberg in the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

“In other words, Cambridge Analytica used the Facebook Platform—in a way that Facebook and Zuckerberg encouraged—to influence and manipulate the outcome of a United States presidential election,” the complaint states. “The personal data of the more than 70 million U.S. Facebook users that Cambridge Analytica used to manipulate the election accounted for more than half the total votes during the 2016 presidential elections, in an election that was effectively decided by just a few hundred thousand people.”

According to the lawsuit, the cover-up followed the breach.

“The Cambridge Analytica revelations shocked the world, but it was no surprise to Facebook or Zuckerberg,” the complaint states. “Facebook had both a longstanding relationship with Cambridge Analytica and also actively encouraged companies like Cambridge Analytica to use the Facebook Platform to influence and manipulate consumer behavior.”

“What is most troubling is that Facebook looked into Cambridge Analytica and determined that it posed a risk to consumer data but chose to bury those concerns rather than stop them, as that could have hurt Facebook’s (and Zuckerberg’s) bottom line,” it continues. “Instead of coming clean, Facebook continued to help Cambridge Analytica win a United States presidential election.”

Indeed, as noted in the lawsuit, Zuckerberg acknowledged defining Facebook’s responsibilities too narrowly in April 2018.

“We didn’t take a broad enough view of what our responsibility is, and that was a huge mistake,” Zuckerberg said at the time. “It was my mistake.”

Racine claims that Zuckerberg violated the District’s Consumer Protection Procedures Act (CPPA), which prohibits unfair and deceptive trade practices. The attorney general’s office seeks an injunction barring future violations, along with civil damages.

Read the lawsuit, below:

(Photo by Johannes Simon/Getty Images)

Have a tip we should know? [email protected]



Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like

Federal Judge Halts State’s Law on Abortion Transportation

Abortion-rights demonstrator holds a sign during a rally on Saturday, May 14,…

Dispatcher Accused of Criticizing Woman for Repeated 911 Calls

Karen Clinton (WOIO). In Ohio, a 911 dispatcher has landed in trouble…

Probationer Arrested for Assaulting Disabled Individual

Staff report GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Michael Joseph Buccino, Jr., 41, was arrested…

Court Case Reveals Daughter Cooked Mother’s Remains on Family Farm

A Kentucky woman who allegedly killed, dismembered, and cooked her mother last…

Probationary Homeless Man Arrested for Assault and Phone Theft in SIMED Parking Lot

Staff report GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Richard Eugene Floto, Jr., 31, was taken…

Argument Over $40 Leads to Tragic Gunfight: Police Report

Background: News footage shows the location in Minneapolis, Minn. where a man…

Perth Couple, Aged 60 and 52, Sentenced to Prison for Involvement in Drug Smuggling Using Car Tires

A married couple will spend up to nine years in prison each…

Florida Man Allegedly Plots to Hire Hitman Against Federal Prosecutor, FBI Agent, and Family Members

Last week, a Florida man was found guilty by a federal jury…

UK Aristocrat and Convicted Rapist Sentenced for Infant’s Death

When they wanted, Constance Marten and Mark Gordon could be warm and caring parents.…

Man Arrested with 155 Pipe Bombs, Used Photo of President Biden for Target Practice

Background: Former President Joe Biden speaks during a Juneteenth event at the…

Florida Man Detained After Baby Hospitalized With Several Broken Bones

A Florida man was taken into custody on Friday after a 3-month-old…

Florida Woman Accused of Stealing Expensive Watches from Tourists

Esther Torres (Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center). A Florida woman has been…