Meta Platforms and its Chief Executive Officer, Mark Zuckerberg, successfully had a lawsuit dismissed that accused them of misleading shareholders in Meta’s proxy statement regarding their capability to protect children using Facebook and Instagram.
In a ruling issued on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, located in San Francisco, determined that the plaintiff, Matt Eisner, did not provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate that shareholders experienced economic losses due to Meta’s purportedly insufficient disclosures. Furthermore, he stated that federal securities law does not mandate Meta to disclose the extent of sexually explicit content and child exploitation present on its platforms, nor to enumerate all child protection measures that were not implemented.
Judge Breyer remarked, “Essentially, Eisner would require Meta to argue against its own recommendations, promote the advantages of tools it ultimately chose not to pursue, acknowledge its shortcomings, and undermine its own achievements. Such an approach is unnecessary.”