Michel Waxman of MBW Represents, Venice, Calif., has been named to handle the West Coast for Santa Monica-based production house TWC, headed by its three cofounders, executive producers Mark Thomas and Ralph Winter, and director Philip Cooke….The newly formed Socket Films (see Street Talk this week) has lined up its sales force consisting of independent reps Cathi Connor and Mike Richter of The Connor Group who will handle the Midwest, Sherry Howell of Howell & Associates on the West Coast, and Phil McIntyre and Mike Lobikis of PGM Artists on the East Coast…..Hank (www.hankmusic.tv), the online project manager and music supervisor service launched by Sarah Gavigan of Ten Music, Venice, Calif., has signed several new labels–New Line Records, Better Looking Records, Ninja Tune and The Control Group….DP Curtis Wehr has returned to Innovative Artists, Santa Monica, for representation and is currently available for spots and features….
Supreme Court Allows Multibillion-Dollar Class Action Lawsuit To Proceed Against Meta
The Supreme Court is allowing a multibillion-dollar class action investors' lawsuit to proceed against Facebook parent Meta, stemming from the privacy scandal involving the Cambridge Analytica political consulting firm.
The justices heard arguments in November in Meta's bid to shut down the lawsuit. On Friday, they decided that they were wrong to take up the case in the first place.
The high court dismissed the company's appeal, leaving in place an appellate ruling allowing the case to go forward.
Investors allege that Meta did not fully disclose the risks that Facebook users' personal information would be misused by Cambridge Analytica, a firm that supported Donald Trump 's first successful Republican presidential campaign in 2016.
Inadequacy of the disclosures led to two significant price drops in the price of the company's shares in 2018, after the public learned about the extent of the privacy scandal, the investors say.
Meta spokesman Andy Stone said the company was disappointed by the court's action. "The plaintiff's claims are baseless and we will continue to defend ourselves as this case is considered by the District Court," Stone said in an emailed statement.
Meta already has paid a $5.1 billion fine and reached a $725 million privacy settlement with users.
Cambridge Analytica had ties to Trump political strategist Steve Bannon. It had paid a Facebook app developer for access to the personal information of about 87 million Facebook users. That data was then used to target U.S. voters during the 2016 campaign.
The lawsuit is one of two high court cases involving class-action lawsuits against tech companies. The justices also are wrestling with whether to shut down a class action against Nvidia.... Read More