A Delaware judge has sanctioned Sheryl Sandberg, Meta’s former COO and board member, for allegedly deleting emails related to the Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal. The decision arose out of a case brought by Meta shareholders against Sandberg and another former Meta board member, Jeff Zients, late last year. The plaintiffs allege that Sandberg and Zients used private email accounts to communicate about issues related to a 2018 shareholder lawsuit that accuses Facebook executives of violating the law — and their fiduciary duties — by failing to protect users’ privacy. Plaintiffs also allege that Sandberg and Zients deleted emails from their personal inboxes despite being ordered not to do so by the court. In Tuesday’s ruling, the Delaware judge overseeing the case found the allegations credible. “The defendants disclosed Sandberg’s personal Gmail account, under a pseudonym, he used for ‘communications regarding matters related to the prosecution and defense in this action,'” the judge’s ruling read. “Counsel’s failure to provide direct answers in response to Sandberg’s interrogatories or in responding to plaintiffs’ questions supports the conclusion that Sandberg did not use the automatic deletion function but rather picked and chose which emails to delete.” In sanctioning Sandberg, the judge raised the legal standard for Sandberg’s affirmative defense, calling it based on facts other than those supporting the plaintiff’s claim. Now Sandberg must prove her defense by “clear and convincing” evidence — not just a “preponderance” of evidence, an easier burden to discharge. The judge has also awarded the plaintiff certain costs. In a statement to TechCrunch via email, a spokesperson for Sandberg said the plaintiffs’ claims are “without merit.” “All work emails are stored on Facebook’s servers,” a spokesperson said. At the root of the courtroom battle are allegations that Meta officials violated a 2012 Federal Trade Commission (FTC) order in which the company agreed to stop collecting and sharing Facebook users’ personal data without their consent. Facebook allegedly later sold the data to commercial partners, including political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica; it is also accused of removing the disclosure of privacy settings that were required under the FTC’s order. In 2019, Meta agreed to pay the FTC $5 billion to settle charges that the company violated the 2012 order. The company has also paid fines from regulators in Europe. Update: Added a statement from Sandberg’s spokesperson.
Former Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg was sentenced by a judge for allegedly deleting emails
