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Indian Express
5 days ago
- Business
- Indian Express
Meta investors, Zuckerberg reach settlement to end $8 billion trial over Facebook privacy violations
Mark Zuckerberg and current and former directors and officers of Meta Platforms agreed on Thursday to settle claims seeking $8 billion for the damage they allegedly caused the company by allowing repeated violations of Facebook users' privacy, a lawyer for the shareholders told a Delaware judge on Thursday. The parties did not disclose details of the settlement and defense lawyers did not address the judge, Kathaleen McCormick of the Delaware Court of Chancery. McCormick adjourned the trial just as it was to enter its second day and she congratulated the parties. The plaintiffs' lawyer, Sam Closic, said the agreement just came together quickly. Billionaire venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, a defendant in the trial and a Meta director, was scheduled to testify on Thursday. Shareholders of Meta sued Zuckerberg, Andreessen and other former company officials including former Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg in hopes of holding them liable for billions of dollars in fines and legal costs the company paid in recent years. The Federal Trade Commission fined Facebook $5 billion in 2019 after finding that it failed to comply with a 2012 agreement with the regulator to protect users' data. The shareholders wanted the 11 defendants to use their personal wealth to reimburse the company. The defendants denied the allegations, which they called 'extreme claims.' Facebook changed its name to Meta in 2021. The company was not a defendant and declined to comment. On its website, the company has said it has invested billions of dollars into protecting user privacy since 2019. A lawyer for the defendants declined to comment. 'This settlement may bring relief to the parties involved, but it's a missed opportunity for public accountability,' said Jason Kint, the head of Digital Content Next, a trade group for content providers. Zuckerberg was expected to take the stand on Monday and Sandberg on Wednesday. The trial was scheduled to run through the end of next week. The case was also expected to include testimony from former Facebook board members Peter Thiel, Palantir Technologies co-founder, and Reed Hastings, co-founder of Netflix. By settling, Zuckerberg and other defendants avoid having to answer probing questions under oath. Sandberg was found during the litigation to have deleted what were likely her most sensitive emails and she was sanctioned, making it harder for her to tell her side of the story in court. The settlement allows plaintiffs to avoid trying a very difficult case. Meta investors alleged that former and current board members completely failed to oversee the company's compliance with the 2012 FTC agreement. The lawsuit also claimed that Zuckerberg and Sandberg knowingly ran Facebook as an illegal data harvesting operation. The oversight allegations are known as Caremark claims, considered the most difficult to prove under Delaware corporate law. It was the first time Caremark claims went to trial, and even if the plaintiffs had gotten a judgment in their favor, the case would have been appealed to the Delaware Supreme Court. That court has reversed major shareholder victories in recent years. The case followed revelations that data from millions of Facebook users was accessed by Cambridge Analytica, a now-defunct political consulting firm that worked for Donald Trump's successful U.S. presidential campaign in 2016. Those revelations led to the FTC fine, which was a record at the time. On Wednesday, an expert witness for the plaintiffs testified about what he called 'gaps and weaknesses' in Facebook's privacy policies but would not say if the company violated the 2012 agreement that Facebook reached with the FTC. Jeffrey Zients, a former board member, testified on Wednesday that the company did not agree to the FTC fine to spare Zuckerberg legal liability, as shareholders alleged. The defendants' legal team also showed the court notes that Zients had taken when he was on the board that seemed to show he was urging the board to make user privacy a top priority, which would undercut plaintiffs' claims. The trial settlement marks the second time Zuckerberg avoided testifying in the court. In 2017, Facebook abandoned a plan to issue a new class of stock as a way for Zuckerberg to extend his control over the company while selling his shares. The decision came a week before Zuckerberg was expected to testify in the Court of Chancery to defend the stock plan. 'Facebook has successfully remade the 'Cambridge Analytica' scandal about a few bad actors rather than an unraveling of its entire business model of surveillance capitalism and the reciprocal, unbridled sharing of personal data,' Kint said. 'That reckoning is now left unresolved.'
India Today
5 days ago
- Business
- India Today
Meta investors, Zuckerberg settle $8 billion privacy lawsuit over Facebook data violations
The agreement was announced in the Delaware Court of Chancery on Thursday, just before the trial was to resume its second trial, presided over by Judge Kathaleen McCormick, was halted after plaintiffs' lawyer Sam Closic informed the court that a settlement had been reached. Details of the agreement remain confidential, and lawyers for the defence declined to to Reuters, the lawsuit was filed by Meta shareholders who aimed to hold CEO Mark Zuckerberg, venture capitalist and board member Marc Andreessen, former COO Sheryl Sandberg, and others accountable for the company's massive legal costs, primarily the $5 billion fine imposed by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2019. That fine followed revelations about Facebook's failure to comply with a 2012 agreement to protect user Shareholders alleged that top executives ignored the company's legal obligations and ran Facebook as an illegal data-gathering operation. The case was based on Caremark claims, a rare and difficult-to-prove legal standard in Delaware corporate law related to board oversight and Sandberg were expected to testify next week, along with other prominent former board members such as Peter Thiel and Reed Hastings. Sandberg was previously sanctioned for deleting emails during litigation, complicating her settling, the defendants avoid testifying under oath, while shareholders sidestep the challenge of proving complex corporate law claims. The case followed the infamous Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which user data was improperly accessed for political advertising during the 2016 US presidential reported by Reuters, Jason Kint, CEO of Digital Content Next, criticised the settlement, saying it denied the public a chance at accountability. 'Facebook has reframed the Cambridge Analytica scandal as a few bad actors, avoiding deeper scrutiny of its surveillance-based business model,' he said. Meta has not commented on the settlement.- EndsTrending Reel
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Meta investors, Zuckerberg reach settlement to end $8 billion trial over Facebook privacy violations
By Tom Hals WILMINGTON, Delaware (Reuters) -Mark Zuckerberg and current and former directors and officers of Meta Platforms agreed on Thursday to settle claims seeking $8 billion for the damage they allegedly caused the company by allowing repeated violations of Facebook users' privacy, a lawyer for the shareholders told a Delaware judge on Thursday. The parties did not disclose details of the settlement and defense lawyers did not address the judge, Kathaleen McCormick of the Delaware Court of Chancery. McCormick adjourned the trial just as it was to enter its second day and she congratulated the parties. The plaintiffs' lawyer, Sam Closic, said the agreement just came together quickly. Billionaire venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, a defendant in the trial and a Meta director, was scheduled to testify on Thursday. Shareholders of Meta sued Zuckerberg, Andreessen and other former company officials including former Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg in hopes of holding them liable for billions of dollars in fines and legal costs the company paid in recent years. The Federal Trade Commission fined Facebook $5 billion in 2019 after finding that it failed to comply with a 2012 agreement with the regulator to protect users' data. The shareholders wanted the 11 defendants to use their personal wealth to reimburse the company. The defendants denied the allegations, which they called "extreme claims." Facebook changed its name to Meta in 2021. The company was not a defendant and declined to comment. On its website, the company has said it has invested billions of dollars into protecting user privacy since 2019. A lawyer for the defendants declined to comment. 'This settlement may bring relief to the parties involved, but it's a missed opportunity for public accountability," said Jason Kint, the head of Digital Content Next, a trade group for content providers. Zuckerberg was expected to take the stand on Monday and Sandberg on Wednesday. The trial was scheduled to run through the end of next week. The case was also expected to include testimony from former Facebook board members Peter Thiel, Palantir Technologies co-founder, and Reed Hastings, co-founder of Netflix. By settling, Zuckerberg and other defendants avoid having to answer probing questions under oath. Sandberg was found during the litigation to have deleted what were likely her most sensitive emails and she was sanctioned, making it harder for her to tell her side of the story in court. The settlement allows plaintiffs to avoid trying a very difficult case. Meta investors alleged that former and current board members completely failed to oversee the company's compliance with the 2012 FTC agreement. The lawsuit also claimed that Zuckerberg and Sandberg knowingly ran Facebook as an illegal data harvesting operation. The oversight allegations are known as Caremark claims, considered the most difficult to prove under Delaware corporate law. It was the first time Caremark claims went to trial, and even if the plaintiffs had gotten a judgment in their favor, the case would have been appealed to the Delaware Supreme Court. That court has reversed major shareholder victories in recent years. The case followed revelations that data from millions of Facebook users was accessed by Cambridge Analytica, a now-defunct political consulting firm that worked for Donald Trump's successful U.S. presidential campaign in 2016. Those revelations led to the FTC fine, which was a record at the time. On Wednesday, an expert witness for the plaintiffs testified about what he called "gaps and weaknesses" in Facebook's privacy policies but would not say if the company violated the 2012 agreement that Facebook reached with the FTC. Jeffrey Zients, a former board member, testified on Wednesday that the company did not agree to the FTC fine to spare Zuckerberg legal liability, as shareholders alleged. The defendants' legal team also showed the court notes that Zients had taken when he was on the board that seemed to show he was urging the board to make user privacy a top priority, which would undercut plaintiffs' claims. The trial settlement marks the second time Zuckerberg avoided testifying in the court. In 2017, Facebook abandoned a plan to issue a new class of stock as a way for Zuckerberg to extend his control over the company while selling his shares. The decision came a week before Zuckerberg was expected to testify in the Court of Chancery to defend the stock plan. "Facebook has successfully remade the 'Cambridge Analytica' scandal about a few bad actors rather than an unraveling of its entire business model of surveillance capitalism and the reciprocal, unbridled sharing of personal data," Kint said. "That reckoning is now left unresolved."
Wall Street Journal
16-07-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
CVS Beats Out UnitedHealth for Calpers Pharmacy Benefits Deal
CVS Health's CVS -0.65%decrease; red down pointing triangle Caremark business signed a new pharmacy benefits contract with the California Public Employees' Retirement System, known as Calpers. The five-year contract provides outpatient drug benefits for about 587,000 Calpers members, which represents roughly 40% of its clients that receive healthcare benefits. CVS will begin providing benefits starting on Jan. 1.
Indianapolis Star
07-07-2025
- Health
- Indianapolis Star
CVS dropped Zepbound in standard coverage. What that means for Zepbound users
When Zepbound, Eli Lilly's highly anticipated weight loss drug, hit the market a year and a half ago, it marked a turning point for the accessibility of weight loss drugs. Since then, Zepbound, the brand name for tirzepatide, has nearly become a household drug brand. Lilly estimates 4.5 million people take one of the Indianapolis drugmaker's GLP-1 medicines to lose weight or curb other health concerns like sleep apnea. But a recent coverage change by a major pharmacy benefit manager may force many to decide how much they're willing to pay for the drug or whether they want to try another weight loss option. As of July 1, CVS dropped Zepbound from preferred coverage for those covered by its pharmacy benefit manager, Caremark. Novo Nordisk A/S's Wegovy, a semiglutide injectable medicine, is now the primary weight loss drug offered on CVS's standard formulary, a list of medications an insurance plan covers. The news was not only a blow to Lilly but also a surprise to millions using Zepbound on Caremark plans, who are now questioning how to move forward. Here's what to know if you are affected by the CVS Caremark formulary change. First, check your mailbox. Those affected should have received a letter with additional information and next steps that could vary person to person. Generally speaking, under the formulary change, CVS Caremark will now cover Wegovy for patients prescribed GLP-1 drugs, and patients on Caremark insurance plans should be able to switch easily. Those who currently use Zepbound on an insurance plan negotiated by Caremark should have received a letter stating the date their transition goes into effect. Some transitions may happen later than July 1, depending on the plan's sponsor. The coverage change only applies to employer and union insurance plans that choose the standard formulary template, about one-third of the population Caremark covers. Those using weight loss drugs on coverage plans different from the standard formulary are not impacted. Talk to your doctor if you have concerns about switching. Caremark offers a medical exceptions process for patients to gain access to off-formulary medications if the preferred alternative is ineffective. Or, talk to your employer. Some employers negotiate their own coverage plans so they may be able to switch to a non-standard formulary. Lilly also offers resources online to those on Zepbound. The list price for Zepbound sits at $1,086 for a 28-day supply, for those without insurance. Lilly estimates patients who have insurance that covers Zepbound pay as little as $25 for a one or three-month supply. Those with commercial insurance plans that do not cover Zepbound may be eligible for a 1-month supply that runs $650. One month equates to 28 days, or four injectable pens. Yes. Lilly sells vials of Zepbound to consumers through its online sales portal, LillyDirect. The lowest dose of 2.5 milligrams starts at $349 for four single doses that will last four weeks. Higher dose packs start at $499. The Indianapolis drugmaker expanded access through LillyDirect, and providers will be able to prescribe 12.5 and 15 milligram doses starting July 7. CVS Caremark estimates between 25 to 30 million people use its standard formulary template, comprising about 30% of its entire membership base. However, not all of those members take weight loss drugs. Weight loss drugs represent about 10% of what Caremark clients spend, up from 1% just a couple of years ago, a CVS executive said. Wegovy and Zepbound use is pretty evenly split for those on weight loss drugs through Caremark plans. Not entirely. Zepbound and Wegovy come from the same class of GLP-1 drugs and deliver significant weight loss through a once-weekly injection. But the two medications have different main active ingredients. Zepbound's main ingredient is tirzepatide and is approved for weight loss and obstructive sleep apnea. Wegovy is a semiglutide medication and helps manage weight loss and cardiovascular health. Though the two drugs are both approved for weight loss, a study published in May funded by Eli Lilly found that patients on Zepbound were more likely to experience weight loss. It was the first time the drugs were compared head-to-head. Caremark says it is dropping Zepbound from preferred coverage to ultimately lower the cost of the drug for its clients. Since Wegovy and Zepbound are clinically similar products approved for weight loss, Caremark encourages the drug manufacturers to compete against each other for preferred insurance coverage for millions of patients. Doing so, Caremark says, can significantly lower prices for employers and unions. "Our decision to prefer Wegovy over Zepbound will deliver significant cost savings for our clients in this therapy class, and the lower net price we were able to negotiate for Wegovy will enable more employers to provide coverage for the weight loss category," CVS Health Vice President of External Affairs David Whitrap told IndyStar in a written statement. Caremark expects employers and unions to expand access to Wegovy as a result of the change in policy. Two other GLP-1 injectables exist on the market, though each varies slightly from Zepbound and Wegovy. Ozempic, the original blockbuster semaglutide injection developed by Novo Nordisk, is used to treat type 2 diabetes. Mounjaro, a Lilly tirzepatide drug, is approved to treat type 2 diabetes when combined with diet and exercise. Eli Lilly is also well into clinical trials for the development of orforglipron, an oral GLP-1 drug for type 2 diabetes and weight management.
