May 15, 2025
A California federal judge on Wednesday refused to rethink her earlier order forcing Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to give a limited deposition in privacy litigation over a Facebook tool’s alleged collection of patient health information, rejecting Meta’s arguments that other executives are better suited to testify.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Virginia K. DeMarchi noted that in an April 10 order, she already held that Zuckerberg probably has “at least some unique first-hand knowledge of facts relevant to a claim or defense” in the litigation, which centers on Meta’s Pixel tool. She cited Zuckerberg’s role “as a decision maker regarding certain privacy-related matters at issue in this case,” the judge said.
Judge DeMarchi said she’s not convinced that assessment was incorrect. For one, Zuckerberg hasn’t denied that he has that knowledge, the judge said. And neither of the other executives made available to give depositions — Vice President of Product Development Fred Leach and Deputy Chief Privacy Officer Robert Sherman — claim to be the “final decision maker regarding the specific matters plaintiffs identify,” she said.
“If Mr. Zuckerberg indeed has unique information, as the court has found, it is difficult to understand how another executive or employee could testify about how Mr. Zuckerberg arrived at the decisions attributed to him, what factors he considered, or why he decided as he did, without engaging in speculation,” Judge DeMarchi said.
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The plaintiffs are represented by Geoffrey Graber of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC, Jason “Jay” Barnes of Simmons Hanly Conroy LLC, Jeffrey A. Koncius of Kiesel Law LLP, Beth E. Terrell of Terrell Marshall Law Group PLLC and Andre M. Mura of Gibbs Mura LLP.
Read Zuckerberg Can’t Avoid Deposition in Meta Health Privacy Suit.