Attorneys representing Meta shareholders have filed a motion in Delaware court seeking sanctions against former Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and current White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients for allegedly deleting crucial emails related to the Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal. The emails were reportedly deleted despite being instructed to preserve them as part of a litigation hold.
Emails Deleted After Litigation Hold
The shareholders argue that Sandberg and Zients used personal email accounts to discuss key issues related to a 2018 shareholder lawsuit accusing Facebook of failing to protect user privacy. Both were under a legal obligation to preserve their communications, yet the plaintiffs contend that the former executives knowingly destroyed key evidence. Sandberg is accused of deleting Gmail communications after just 30 days, while Zients did not disable an auto-delete function on his email account.
Sanctions Requested
In their court filing, the plaintiffs request that both Sandberg and Zients be prohibited from testifying about any information communicated via their personal emails. They also argue that any defense presented by the former executives should be held to a higher standard of proof, requiring “clear and convincing evidence” rather than the typical “preponderance of the evidence.”
Defense’s Argument
Defense attorney Berton Ashman admitted that the deletions were “unfortunate” but maintained that no relevant information was intentionally destroyed. He suggested that the plaintiffs were not prejudiced by the missing emails, as most of the communications were also sent to other individuals at Facebook and may have been recovered from other sources.
Plaintiff’s Response
Max Huffman, the plaintiffs’ attorney, countered by asserting that Sandberg had complete control over which emails were kept and which were deleted. He emphasized that this gave her the power to unilaterally decide what evidence could be preserved. Huffman also noted that Sandberg’s actions undermined the plaintiffs’ ability to secure full disclosure of relevant documents.
Upcoming Legal Proceedings
The case, which centers on allegations that Facebook violated its 2012 consent order with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) by mishandling user data, will continue into April with a non-jury trial. Judge J. Travis Laster will review the deposition transcript of Sandberg before ruling on the sanctions motion.
Cambridge Analytica Scandal and Fallout
The lawsuit stems from the 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal, which involved the unauthorized sharing of personal data from millions of Facebook users with the British consulting firm hired by the Trump campaign. The fallout from the scandal led to a significant fine and an unprecedented $5 billion penalty against Facebook, as well as heightened scrutiny over the company’s data practices and its compliance with FTC orders.
