Justices dismiss Facebook-Cambridge Analytica data breach dispute
OPINION ASSESSMENT
This Morning, the justices dismissed Facebook V. Amalgamated Bank, stating that the case was “improvidently given” – i.e., that the review had been granted in error. The unsigned brief order leaves in place a ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals, 9th Circuit, that allowed a securities class action against Meta on the theory that Facebook’s disclosures had improperly downplayed risks of a data breaches to shareholders. Shareholders claim that the company disclosed the hypothetical risk of future data breaches which violated securities laws because Cambridge Analytica exploited millions of users’ data. When Cambridge’s misuse of user data later became widely known, Facebook’s stock price fell dramatically.
At the oral argument, even the more conservative justices seemed skeptical of Facebook’s arguments, so its failure to persuade a majority to rein in the lower court is not surprising. At this point, the case will return to the lower courts, where the action will proceed against Meta.
Posted in Featured, Merits Cases
Recommended Citation:
Ronald Mann
Justices dismiss Facebook-Cambridge Analytica data breach dispute,
[Disclosure: Tom Goldstein, the publisher of SCOTUSblog, argued on behalf of the investors in the court of appeals but was not involved in the Supreme Court proceedings in the case.]
SCOTUSblog
(Nov. 22, 2024, 1:35 PM),
