Shareholders oust Yoav Stern amid outrage over compensation package

In Wilmington, Delaware, attorneys representing Meta shareholders are advocating for sanctions against former Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and current White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients due to their alleged deletion of emails connected to the Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal. Despite prior notices to preserve documents, the plaintiff's lawyers claim both executives utilized personal email accounts to discuss crucial matters pertaining to a shareholder lawsuit, which accused Facebook's leadership of violating fiduciary duties and user data protections. Sandberg reportedly deleted emails from her Gmail account after just thirty days, while Zients left an auto-delete feature active on his personal email, even after being instructed to keep records. The plaintiffs have highlighted this destruction of evidence as either reckless or intentionally harmful, arguing that such actions should prevent both individuals from testifying on related issues. Sandberg was recently deposed with Zients scheduled for February. The defense has countered by characterizing the deletions as unfortunate but not prejudicial to the plaintiffs, suggesting that any relevant emails have been accessible through other channels at Facebook. This controversy connects to Facebook's broader issues regarding user privacy, which culminated in significant fines and public scrutiny following the Cambridge Analytica revelations. The plaintiffs aim to raise the burden of proof for the executives in any defense they might present in court, emphasizing the need for accountability in handling sensitive information related to privacy scandals.