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Nov. 22 (UPI) -- The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday dismissed an appeal by Facebook as the social media company attempts to shield itself from a class action lawsuit related to the Cambridge Analytica data privacy scandal. The court did not give a reason, issuing only a one-line statement Friday morning, stating the "writ of certiorari is dismissed."
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The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit had previously allowed the class action lawsuit against Facebook Inc. to go ahead.
Friday's Supreme Court ruling affirms the lower court's decision.
The class action lawsuit filed by Facebook shareholders stems from a data breach in 2015 involving political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica. The company, founded by former Donald Trump advisor Steve Bannon, used the data of some 87 million unknowing users supplied by Facebook insiders to help support the 2016 political campaigns of Trump and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.
Facebook shareholders contend the company did not properly disclose the nature of the privacy breach once it became public, misleading them into thinking it was less severe.
"The plaintiff's claims are baseless and we will continue to defend ourselves as this case is considered by the District Court. We are disappointed in the Supreme Court's decision not to clarify this part of the law," a Meta spokesperson told The Hill in a statement.
In 2018, a group of Facebook users who had their data improperly shared, sued the social media giant alleging it violated privacy laws in sharing the personal information with the consulting firm and other third parties.
In late 2022, Facebook reached a settlement with some of the plaintiffs, agreeing to pay $725 million to settle the claims against it.
Those legal proceedings concluded last year.
