Shareholders claim Facebook overpaid FTC settlement to protect Zuckerberg

Facebook shareholders have filed a complaint alleging that board members overpaid a $ 5 billion FTC fine to protect CEO Mark Zuckerberg from an individual lawsuit, Politics reported. “Zuckerberg, Sandberg, and other Facebook administrators have agreed to authorize a multi-billion settlement with the FTC as express consideration to protect Zuckerberg from being named in the FTC’s complaint, from being subjected to personal liability, or even required to sit for a deposition, ”according to one of the two lawsuits filed.

The two lawsuits, filed in a Delaware court last month, cite internal discussions between members of Facebook’s board of directors. In February 2019, the FTC named Facebook and Zuckerberg personally as defendants in a draft lawsuit sent to lawyers for the company, according to shareholders (the FTC never disclosed any such plans). Two Democrats voted against the settlement, saying Zuckerberg should have been held personally responsible.

“The FTC never revealed that it originally planned to personally name Zuckerberg in the lawsuit, and the agency’s two Democrats at the time voted against the settlement in part because of lack of personal accountability. of the CEO, “said a group of shareholders.

The $ 5 billion settlement was the result of a complaint filed by the FTC over Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica scandal. Democratic commissioners said the settlement would not have the desired outcome, which was to force Facebook to improve privacy and other issues. Since then, privacy has continued to be an issue on Facebook and its other platforms, along with areas like misinformation, harassment and double standards for elite users, according to a recent report. WSJ series.

“The board of directors has never provided serious control over Zuckerberg’s unhindered authority,” said a group of shareholders. “Instead, it empowered him, defended him, and paid billions of dollars out of Facebook’s corporate coffers to make his problems go away.” Engadget reached out to Facebook for comment.