Supreme Court rejects Meta’s appeal to block multibillion-dollar lawsuit

US supreme court dismissed MetaHis call Friday to block a multibillion-dollar investor lawsuit.

The High Court, which heard arguments in the case earlier this month, upheld an appeal ruling that allowed the case to continue.

Meta spokesman Andy Stone expressed the company’s disappointment with the Supreme Court’s decision.

“Plaintiff’s claims are without merit and we will continue to defend ourselves as this case is reviewed by the District Court,” Stone said in an emailed statement to The Associated Press.

Why are investors suing Meta?

Investors argue that Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagramdid not fully disclose the risks of Facebook users’ personal information being misused by Cambridge Analytica, a political consulting firm that supported the current president-elect. Donald Trumphis first successful presidential run in 2016.

The inadequacy of the disclosures led to two significant drops in Meta’s share price in 2018 after the public learned about the extent of the privacy scandal, investors say.

Meta has already paid a $5.1 billion fine and reached a $725 million privacy settlement with its users.

What did Cambridge Analytica do?

Cambridge Analytica — which had ties to Steve Bannonformer White House chief strategist under the first Trump administration — allegedly paid a Facebook app developer to access the personal information of about 87 million Facebook users. This information was then reportedly used to target US voters during the 2016 election cycle.

When the Cambridge Analytica scandal broke, the CEO of Facebook Mark Zuckerbergapologized for a “major breach of trust”.

“I’m very sorry that it happened,” Zuckerberg said of the scandal during a CNN March 2018 interview.

He said Facebook has a “responsibility” to protect its users’ data, adding that if the social media platform fails to do so, “we don’t deserve to have the opportunity to serve people.”

Facebook has renamed Meta in October 2021. Zuckerberg is the founder, chairman and CEO of Meta.

Class action against Nvidia

Nvidia, a maker of chips used in artificial intelligence technology, is also involved in a class-action lawsuit. Investors say the company misled them about its reliance on selling computer chips to mine cryptocurrency, a volatile digital or virtual currency.

The tech company asked the Supreme Court to appeal a lower court’s decision to allow the trial to continue. The high court heard arguments in the case earlier this month and has yet to issue a decision.

This article includes reporting from the Associated Press.