A request to depose Mark Zuckerberg as a part of Washington, D.C.’s data-privacy lawsuit towards Fb drew a blistering denial from the decide overseeing the case, who referred to as the try “frankly annoying.”
D.C. Superior Courtroom Decide Maurice A. Ross mentioned Tuesday the district waited too lengthy so as to add the Meta Platforms Inc. chief govt officer to the 2018 lawsuit and {that a} deposition was unlikely to assist shoppers who have been allegedly harmed by the social-media firm’s handling of user data.
“You wish to change this from a case about Fb to a case about Mr. Zuckerberg,” Ross mentioned Tuesday to a lawyer for D.C. Legal professional Common Karl Racine throughout a quick courtroom listening to. The request “smacks of dangerous religion,” the decide added.
The District of Columbia sued Fb in 2018 over its dealing with of person knowledge, exemplified by a privateness breach by which the non-public info of hundreds of thousands of Individuals was transferred to Cambridge Analytica, a political consulting agency employed by former president Donald Trump’s presidential marketing campaign.
Fb declined to remark. Racine’s workplace didn’t instantly reply to messages looking for remark.
Racine’s transfer so as to add Zuckerberg to the go well with in October was one of many first occasions a regulation enforcement official has personally focused the Fb founder, however Ross questioned its relevance. The decide mentioned deposing Zuckerberg wouldn’t enhance the result for D.C. shoppers, who he mentioned have been extra serious about receiving cash damages than testimony from executives.
Ross cited a line from the 1996 movie “Jerry Maguire” to criticize Racine’s give attention to Zuckerberg. “Most shoppers are like Cuba Gooding — they’re like ‘present me the cash,” the decide mentioned. “They don’t care what occurs to Zuckerberg.”
The decide mentioned that Racine might all the time “carry a legal case” towards Zuckerberg if he uncovered proof that required bringing the chief to justice.
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