Former Meta Executive Sanctioned Over Email Deletion Allegations

A Delaware judge has sanctioned Sheryl Sandberg, former Chief Operating Officer and board member of Meta, for allegedly deleting emails pertinent to the Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal. The decision surfaces amid allegations from plaintiffs that Sandberg and Jeff Zients, another former Meta board member, used personal email accounts to discuss issues linked to a 2018 shareholder lawsuit. This lawsuit accused Facebook's leadership of failing in their legal and fiduciary duties to safeguard user privacy.

The controversy traces back to a 2012 Federal Trade Commission (FTC) order mandating Meta to cease collecting and sharing Facebook users' personal data without consent. In 2019, Meta agreed to pay a staggering $5 billion to settle charges of violating this order. Plaintiffs claim Sandberg and Zients deleted emails from their personal accounts despite explicit court instructions to preserve them.

"Counsel’s failure to give a straight answer in Sandberg’s interrogatory responses or when answering plaintiffs’ questions supports an inference that Sandberg was not using an auto-delete function but rather picking and choosing which emails to delete." – Judge (unnamed)

In a significant move, the judge heightened the legal standard for Sandberg's affirmative defense, demanding "clear and convincing" evidence. This case is part of a broader litigation effort by Meta shareholders against Sandberg and Zients, focusing on alleged data sales to commercial partners, including Cambridge Analytica. Additionally, accusations have been made that Facebook removed necessary disclosures from privacy settings as required under the FTC order.

The judge found the allegations against Sandberg compelling, further noting that the defendants revealed Sandberg's use of a personal Gmail account under a pseudonym for potentially relevant communications.

"The defendants disclosed Sandberg’s personal Gmail account, maintained under a pseudonym, that she used to ‘communicate about matters potentially relevant to the claims and defenses in this action,’" – Judge (unnamed)

Meta has already faced penalties from European regulators over similar privacy issues. The ongoing legal proceedings underscore persistent concerns about data privacy management by tech giants like Meta.