Democratic Attorney General Karl Racine of Washington, D.C., announced Wednesday he was adding Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg to a lawsuit filed against the tech giant alleging it allowed companies to harvest private user data.
Racine sued Facebook in December 2018 following the Cambridge Analytica scandal in which a data analytics firm working with former President Donald Trump’s campaign harvested data on Facebook users. The suit alleged that Facebook misled its users about its privacy policies by allowing Cambridge Analytica to collect user information.
Racine announced that he was adding Zuckerberg as a defendant to the lawsuit following the results of an ongoing investigation into the Facebook executive’s role in setting privacy policies. (RELATED: Facebook Disables Accounts Of NYU Research Project It Claims Violated User Privacy)
“Our continuing investigation revealed that he was personally involved in decisions related to Cambridge Analytica and Facebook’s failure to protect user data,” Racine tweeted Wednesday.
BREAKING: I just added Mark Zuckerberg as a defendant in my lawsuit against Facebook.
Our continuing investigation revealed that he was personally involved in decisions related to Cambridge Analytica and Facebook’s failure to protect user data.
— AG Karl A. Racine (@AGKarlRacine) October 20, 2021
Racine told The New York Times that a 2010 shift in company policy allowing third-party developers to obtain user data was the “brainchild” of Zuckerberg himself.
“Under these circumstances, adding Mr. Zuckerberg to our lawsuit is unquestionably warranted, and should send a message that corporate leaders, including the C.E.O., will be held accountable for their actions,” Racine said.
When reached for comment by the Daily Caller News Foundation, a Facebook spokesperson dismissed Racine’s allegations. (RELATED: Facebook Suspends ‘Instagram Kids’ Following Investigation Into Platform’s Effect On Teens)
“These allegations are as meritless today as they were more than three years ago, when the District filed its complaint,” the company spokesperson said. “We will continue to defend ourselves vigorously and focus on the facts.”
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