The investors behind the lawsuit allege that Meta failed to adequately disclose the risks that Facebook users\u2019 personal information could be misused by Cambridge Analytica, a data firm involved in Donald Trump\u2019s successful 2016 presidential campaign.<\/p>\n
The investors argue that these inadequate disclosures contributed to two significant drops in Meta\u2019s stock price in 2018, as the public became aware of the full scope of the privacy scandal, the Associated Press reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n Meta spokesman Andy Stone said the court\u2019s action disappointed the company. \u201cThe plaintiff\u2019s claims are baseless and we will continue to defend ourselves as this case is considered by the District Court,\u201d Stone said in an emailed statement.<\/p>\n The company has already paid a $5.1 billion fine and settled a $725 million privacy claim with Facebook users.<\/p>\n Cambridge Analytica, which had connections to Trump political strategist Steve Bannon, paid a Facebook app developer for access to the personal data of approximately 87 million Facebook users. This information was then utilized to target U.S. voters during the 2016 presidential campaign.<\/p>\n The Meta lawsuit is one of two class-action cases involving tech companies currently before the Supreme Court. The justices are also deliberating whether to allow a class-action suit against Nvidia to proceed. Investors in that case allege the company misled them about its reliance on selling computer chips for the mining of volatile cryptocurrencies, the AP added.<\/p>\n According to reports from 2018 to 2019, Hillary Clinton\u2019s 2016 campaign offered<\/a> the same tools and access to Facebook user data as the Trump campaign. Many reports said the Clinton campaign turned down the offer.<\/p>\n