Ohio Suit Alleges Facebook Misled Public

Facebook misled the public on how it controls a proprietary algorithm in an effort to “boost its stock and deceive shareholders,” Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost (R) alleged in a lawsuit announced Monday. Facebook and senior executives violated federal securities laws by “purposely misleading the public about the negative effects its products have on the health and well-being of children and the steps the company has taken to protect the public,” the state argued, citing findings in September news reports and testimony from whistleblower Frances Haugen (see 2110050062). Yost filed the suit for the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System and Facebook investors. CEO Mark Zuckerberg and company executives knew they were making false statements, Yost said in the announcement, citing internal documents showing the company said: "We are not actually doing what we say we do publicly." Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., previously called for investigation into securities fraud (see 2110260070). "This suit is without merit and we will defend ourselves vigorously," a Meta spokesperson emailed Monday.