The U.S. Supreme Court dismissed Meta's appeal on Friday to block a multibillion-dollar class-action investors' lawsuit.
The high court, who heard arguments in the case earlier this month, left in place an appellate ruling allowing the case to move forward.
Meta spokesman Andy Stone expressed the company's disappointment in the Supreme Court's decision.
"The plaintiff's claims are baseless and we will continue to defend ourselves as this case is considered by the District Court," Stone said in an emailed statement to The Associated Press.
Why Are Investors Suing Meta?
Investors allege that Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, did not fully disclose the risks that Facebook users' personal information would be misused by Cambridge Analytica, a political consulting firm that supported now-President-elect Donald Trump's first successful presidential run in 2016.
Inadequacy of the disclosures led to two significant Meta stock price drops in 2018 after the public learned about the extent of this privacy scandal, the investors allege.
Meta has already paid a $5.1 billion fine and reached a $725 million privacy settlement with its users.
What Did Cambridge Analytica Do?
Cambridge Analytica—which had ties to Steve Bannon, former White House Chief Strategist under Trump's first administration—had reportedly paid a Facebook app developer for access to the personal information of roughly 87 million Facebook users. This information was then reportedly used to target U.S. voters during the 2016 election cycle.
When the Cambridge Analytica scandal broke, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, apologized for a "major breach of trust."
"I am really sorry that happened," Zuckerberg said of the scandal during a CNN interview in March 2018.
He said that Facebook has a "responsibility" to protect its users' data, adding that if the social media platform fails to do so, "we don't deserve to have the opportunity to serve people."
Facebook rebranded to Meta in October 2021. Zuckerberg is the founder, chairman and CEO of Meta.
Class Action Lawsuit Against Nvidia
Nvidia, a manufacturer of chips used in artificial intelligence technology, is also involved in a class-action lawsuit. Investors allege the company misled them about its dependence on selling computer chips for the mining of cryptocurrency, a volatile digital or virtual currency.
The tech company has asked the Supreme Court to appeal a lower court's decision to allow the lawsuit to continue. The high court heard arguments in the case earlier this month and has yet to issue a ruling.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press.
English (US) ·