Meta Platforms and CEO Mark Zuckerberg have reached a confidential settlement with investors, bringing an abrupt end to a high-profile $8 billion lawsuit over Facebook’s repeated privacy failures, including the notorious Cambridge Analytica scandal. The agreement was confirmed on July 17, 2025, just as Zuckerberg was set to testify in a rare courtroom appearance before the Delaware Court of Chancery.
Filed by Meta shareholders, the suit alleged that Zuckerberg, former COO Sheryl Sandberg, and several board members, including tech investor Marc Andreessen, breached their fiduciary duties by failing to prevent data privacy violations. Plaintiffs claimed that these lapses contributed to billions of dollars in regulatory penalties, including Facebook’s $5 billion settlement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission in 2019.
The lawsuit sought to hold Meta’s top leadership personally responsible, arguing they allowed Facebook to operate as an “illegal data harvesting operation.” A central claim was that Meta’s board failed to enforce the company’s 2012 FTC consent decree, allowing the misuse of user data to continue for years.
The settlement, whose terms remain confidential, marked a surprising conclusion to a trial that was expected to shed light on Silicon Valley’s handling of user data and corporate accountability. Meta did not admit any wrongdoing, and the settlement avoids what could have been damaging testimony from several high-profile executives.
The case had been considered a rare and significant test of the Caremark legal standard, which holds boards accountable for failing to monitor legal and ethical compliance. This burden is notoriously difficult to prove in court.
