The attorney general for Washington, D.C. filed a lawsuit against Meta FB CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Monday, accusing him of being personally responsible for the massive Cambridge Analytica data breach.
In a suit, Attorney General Karl Racine alleges that Zuckerberg's failure to oversee consumers' data privacy led to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which a political consulting firm used millions of Facebook users' data in an attempt to influence the 2016 election in favor of Donald Trump.
In a statement, Racine said that Mr. Zuckerberg was personally involved in Facebook's failure to protect the privacy and data of its users, leading to the Cambridge Analytica incident.
The lawsuit, filed in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, states that Zuckerberg violated the Consumer Protection Procedures Act, the District's general consumer protection law.
This unprecedented security breach exposed tens of millions of Americans personal information, and Mr. Zuckerberg's policies allowed for a multi-year effort to mislead users about the extent of Facebook's wrongful conduct. This lawsuit is not only warranted but necessary, and sends a message that corporate leaders, including CEOs, will be held accountable for their actions, he said.
According to Racine, the suit against Zuckerberg comes as a result of an existing investigation and lawsuit that his office filed against Facebook in the aftermath of the Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2018.
Racine believes that because Zuckerberg holds the largest number of shares of Meta and that he has final say over everything that happens at the company, he is responsible for Facebook's day-to- day operations. Racine claims that Zuckerberg is also responsible for the events that led to the scandal.
Yahoo Finance reached out to Meta for comment and will update this story when we receive one.
Email Daniel Howley at dhowley yahoofinance.com.