GG News Bureau
New York, 25th Jan. Meta’s former Chief Operating Officer, Sheryl Sandberg, is facing increased legal scrutiny following allegations that she deleted emails related to the infamous Cambridge Analytica scandal. The latest developments come just days after Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg placed the blame for the company’s “culture” and inclusivity initiatives on Sandberg during a meeting with Stephen Miller, a senior advisor to former President Donald Trump.
According to a New York Times report, Zuckerberg’s comments came in a conversation with Miller, which focused on Facebook’s internal policies. Meanwhile, Sandberg has reportedly been sanctioned by a Delaware judge for allegedly deleting emails tied to the ongoing legal proceedings.
The controversy stems from a shareholder lawsuit filed late last year, accusing Sandberg and former Meta board member Jeff Zients of using personal email accounts to discuss the 2018 lawsuit regarding Facebook’s handling of user privacy. The plaintiffs allege that the two executives deleted emails related to the lawsuit, despite a court order to preserve evidence.
The Delaware judge has ruled that these allegations are credible, particularly noting that Sandberg used a personal Gmail account under a pseudonym for communications pertinent to the case. The judge further found inconsistencies in Sandberg’s responses to the lawsuit, suggesting selective deletion of emails, rather than an automatic deletion function.
As a result, the judge has imposed a higher burden of proof on Sandberg’s defense, requiring her to provide “clear and convincing” evidence rather than the usual “preponderance” of evidence. Additionally, the plaintiffs have been awarded certain expenses.
A spokesperson for Sandberg, however, has denied the allegations, asserting that “all work emails were preserved on Facebook’s servers.”
At the heart of the legal battle are claims that Meta violated a 2012 FTC order, which prohibited the company from sharing or selling user data without consent. This includes allegations that Facebook shared data with commercial partners like Cambridge Analytica and removed critical privacy disclosures. In 2019, Meta was fined $5 billion by the FTC for breaching this order and has faced additional penalties from European regulators.
Comments are closed.