Ohio sues Facebook parent company over investor losses

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost (R) filed a lawsuit against Facebook parent company Meta alleging it violated federal securities law by intentionally misleading investors.

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System in California last week, leans on documents provided to the press and lawmakers by whistleblower Frances Haugen.

It argues that Facebook executives misled the public about the effects of its products on the health of young users and its efforts to protect the public.

“Facebook said it was looking out for our children and weeding out online trolls, but in reality was creating misery and divisiveness for profit,” Yost said in a statement. “We are not people to Mark Zuckerberg, we are the product and we are being used against each other out of greed.”

The lawsuit claims that the decline in Facebook stock since the first stories about Haugen’s documents were published in The Wall Street Journal caused the OPERS and other investors to lose more than $100 billion.

Yost is seeking to recover the lost value and require Meta to make reforms to ensure it does not mislead the public in the future.

A spokesperson for Meta called the lawsuit “without merit.”

“We will defend ourselves vigorously,” they added.