The lawsuit had been ongoing for many years and would have forced top-level executives to speak before the court.

An $8 billion US trial by Meta Platforms shareholders against Mark Zuckerberg and other current and former company leaders kicks off on Wednesday over claims that they illegally harvested the data of Facebook users in violation of a 2012 agreement with the U.

Meta Platforms is facing a legal challenge as shareholders accuse the board of inadequate oversight related to privacy violations. The case stems from the infamous Cambridge Analytica data breach. The defendants,