Washington, DC Attorney General Karl Racine (D) added Facebook CEO on Wednesday Mark ZuckerbergMark ZuckerbergEx-Facebook data scientist to testify before UK lawmakers A defense for Facebook and global free speech Senate Democrat calls on Facebook to keep documents related to whistleblower testimonies MORE to an existing lawsuit alleging that the social media giant failed to protect user data in the 2016 election.

This is the first time that Zuckerberg has been cited in a complaint filed by a US regulator, according to Racine’s office.

The lawsuit, originally filed in 2018, centers on the Cambridge Analytica scandal, when a data company collected information from 87 million people without their knowledge.

The case was brought under DC’s Consumer Protection Procedures Act, which prohibits unfair and deceptive business practices. Individuals are responsible for a company’s actions under the law if it can be shown to have knowledge of them at the time of the violation.

“Based on the evidence we have gathered in this case over the past two years and the district investigation more generally, it is clear that Mr. Zuckerberg knowingly and actively participated in every decision that led to the collection. massive amount of data from Facebook users by Cambridge Analytica and to misrepresentation by Facebook to users about the security of their data, ”Racine said in a statement.

“Under these circumstances, Mr. Zuckerberg should be held accountable for his involvement in decisions that have allowed millions of user data to be exposed – and that is why we are adding him to our complaint,” he said. he adds.

Facebook initially filed a request to dismiss the lawsuit, but that request was denied.

Racine’s office expects the case to officially go to trial in early 2023.

A Facebook spokesperson said in a statement that the allegations “are as baseless today as they were over three years ago.”

“We will continue to defend ourselves vigorously and focus on the facts,” they added.