One query that has lengthy lingered amongst these concerned in Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica scandal is: when did prime firm execs know concerning the UK firm constructing psychological profiles of U.S. customers, and why did they take so lengthy to do one thing about it?

Zamaan Qureshi, an American University pupil and tech coverage wonk, submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the Securities and Exchange Commission and acquired sworn testimony from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg from 2019. The document reveals that again in 2017, Zuckerberg had initially thought of reporting in a speech that his firm, then simply referred to as Facebook, was wanting into particulars about Cambridge Analytica. It contradicts testimony Zuckerberg gave in entrance of Congress and should add extra gas to the hearth of ongoing lawsuits.

For those that want a refresher, within the late 2010s Meta got here beneath fireplace for sharing tens of thousands and thousands of customers’ private info with the British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica. The firm allegedly used this knowledge to assemble psychological profiles of U.S. voters to assist the presidential marketing campaign of Sen. Ted Cruz through the 2016 election and later former President Donald Trump.

Zuckerberg’s SEC deposition first mentions a sequence of articles from Motherboard culminating in a bombshell report revealed in January, 2017. When requested if that was the primary time he heard about Cambridge Analytica, the CEO replied:

“my guess is I heard of them before. And that this was after seeing a couple of mentions of what they were claiming to do, I wanted to ask people who I trusted what their assessment was.”

The doc reveals a special timeline of occasions than what Zuckerberg utilized in testimony made in entrance of Congress again in 2019. In response to questions on when he knew one thing was unusual with Cambridge Analytica, Zuckerberg responded:

“I’m not sure the exact time, but it was probably around the time when it became public, I think it was around March of 2018. I could be wrong.”

The questions by New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez additional grilled Zuckerberg on when any of his management group grew to become conscious of Cambridge Analytica, particularly since there have been experiences from The Guardian dating back to 2015. The Meta CEO mentioned “I’m sure some folks were tracking it internally,” then he revised his earlier assertion saying “I do think I was aware of Cambridge Analytica as an entity earlier, I just don’t know if I was tracking how they were using Facebook specifically.”

The deposition additionally notes that Zuckerberg had initially supposed to inform Facebook customers they have been wanting into Cambridge Analytica as early as 2017. In a 2017 speech Zucerberg made to Facebook customers relating to allegations of Russian misinformation and election meddling campaigns, the Facebook CEO said:

“We will continue our investigation into what happened on Facebook in this election. We may find more, and if we do, we will continue to work with the government. We are looking into foreign actors, including additional Russian groups and other former Soviet states, as well as organizations like the campaigns, to further our understanding of how they used our tools. These investigations will take some time, but we will continue our thorough review.”

However, in line with the doc, an earlier draft of that very same speech mentioned:

“We are already looking into foreign actors including Russian intelligence actors in other Soviet states and organizations like Cambridge Analytica.”

Zuckerberg did declare he didn’t find out about Facebook’s political promoting group elevating issues about Cambridge Analytica earlier than The Guardian’s 2015 article. However, Facebook didn’t ban the UK political consulting agency even after that report got here out, one thing Zuckerberg referred to as “a mistake,” including his firm “didn’t connect the dots.” What dots the corporate ought to have linked have been sadly redacted from the doc.

There are two ongoing lawsuits centered round Cambridge Analytica. One lawsuit on behalf of shareholders in Delaware alleges the corporate had failed to guard customers’ privateness. Earlier this yr, court docket paperwork confirmed Meta had agreed to settle the category motion lawsuit filed on behalf of Facebook customers alleging client fraud and neglect. Some reporters deep into the Cambridge Analytica scandal famous it might need been an effort to cease Zuckerberg from being deposed.

In an electronic mail assertion, a Meta spokesperson advised Gizmodo “This has been a settled case for over three years.” The firm additionally linked to a 2019 agreement the corporate made with the Federal Trade Commission the place the corporate agreed to pay a $5 billion penalty.

Qureshi is a coverage advisor for The Real Facebook Oversight Board, an unaffiliated advocacy group fashioned because the form of antithesis to Meta’s personal—considerably unbiased—Oversight Board.