Facebook shareholders have filed a lawsuit alleging that board members overpaid on a $5 billion FTC high-quality to guard CEO Mark Zuckerberg from a person lawsuit, Politico has reported. “Zuckerberg, Sandberg, and other Facebook directors agreed to authorize a multi-billion settlement with the FTC as an express quid pro quo to protect Zuckerberg from being named in the FTC’s complaint, made subject to personal liability, or even required to sit for a deposition,” in response to one of many two fits filed.

The two lawsuits, filed in a Delaware courtroom final month, cite inner dialogue amongst Facebook’s board members. In February of 2019, the FTC named each Facebook and Zuckerberg personally as defendants in a draft grievance despatched to firm attorneys, in response to the shareholders (the FTC has by no means revealed any such plans). Two Democrats voted towards the settlement, saying that Zuckerberg ought to have been held personally accountable. 

“The FTC has never disclosed that it originally planned to name Zuckerberg personally in the lawsuit, and the agency’s two Democrats at the time voted against the settlement in part because of the lack of personal liability for the CEO,” one group of shareholders alleged. 

The $5 billion settlement was the results of an FTC grievance filed over Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica scandal. Democratic commissioners stated the settlement would not have the specified end result, which was to drive Facebook to enhance privateness and different points. Since then, privateness has continued to be an issue throughout Facebook and its different platforms, together with areas like misinformation, harassment and double requirements for elite customers, in response to a latest WSJ series. 

“The Board has never provided a serious check on Zuckerberg’s unfettered authority,” one set of shareholders stated. “Instead, it has enabled him, defended him, and paid billions of {dollars} from Facebook’s company coffers to make his issues go away.” Engadget has reached out to Facebook for remark.