Facebook Must Proceed With Privacy Breach Suit, Judge Rules
- Washington judge denies social network’s bid to dismiss case
- Ruling add to mounting pressure on Facebook to amend practices
Facebook Inc. headquarters in Menlo Park.
Photographer: David Paul Morris/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Facebook Inc. must defend itself in a District of Columbia lawsuit accusing the social network of failing to safeguard users’ personal data and allowing a U.K. political consulting firm to mine the information for the benefit of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
The decision on Friday by D.C. Superior Court Judge Fern Saddler adds to the pressure on the company to change how it handles subscribers’ personal information. Facebook has said it may cost as much as $5 billion to resolve a Federal Trade Commission probe of its privacy practices. The Menlo Park, California-based company also faces a consumer class action over those practices and investigations in several states.