On the second day of the trial, Meta emailed reporters over fears that redacted documents could reveal confidential information. (AP)
On the second day of the trial, Meta emailed reporters over fears that redacted documents could reveal confidential information. (AP)
On the second day of the trial, Meta emailed reporters over fears that redacted documents could reveal confidential information. (AP)
On the second day of the trial, Meta emailed reporters over fears that redacted documents could reveal confidential information. (AP)

Meta trial: Social media giant inadvertently sends reporters sensitive information


Cody Combs
  • English
  • Arabic

As Meta continues its legal battle against the US Federal Trade Commission, the company is also trying to clean up what it calls a “technical deficiency” that led to the possible revelation of redacted material presented in court.

Shortly after Meta's lawyers' opening arguments on Monday, the social media giant sent out an email to reporters containing a synopsis of the company's main points, along with an 88-page PDF of the slide-deck used in the courtroom.

Several portions of the slide-deck were redacted, which is not unusual in a trial of this size.

On Tuesday, however, The Verge, a tech news site, stated that the redactions could easily be removed, though it also noted that they were not necessarily covering anything compromising or secret, at least to the lay individual.

Meta asked for a slide-deck it had previously emailed to be destroyed because it was incorrectly redacted
Meta asked for a slide-deck it had previously emailed to be destroyed because it was incorrectly redacted

Later in the day, a member of Meta's public affairs team emailed recipients of the slide-deck PDF and asked that the document and any copies be destroyed and not reshared.

“The version you received included redactions that we now understand can be manipulated to reveal the underlying information, which was inadvertent,” read the email from Meta's public affairs team at the end of the second day of the high-stakes trial.

“We have taken immediate steps to correct this technical deficiency and are providing you with a new and corrected version of the slide deck,” the email continued, referring to a correctly redacted version of Meta's opening arguments against the FTC that was attached.

Also in the email, Meta's public affairs team included a signed protective order from Judge James Boasberg that seeks to prevent and limit the dissemination of potentially sensitive information.

Meta provided a protective order shortly after acknowledging the PDF of the slide-deck was incorrectly redacted, potentially revealing confidential information
Meta provided a protective order shortly after acknowledging the PDF of the slide-deck was incorrectly redacted, potentially revealing confidential information

“Our legal department has instructed me to send to you the protective order that covers this issue, and to request that you acknowledge and agree to be bound by Appendix A to the protective order, attached here,” it read.

Depending on how documents are composed, saved and exported as PDFs, redacting information can appear simple, but the process can be more complicated than many realise. PDF viewing apps also differ in how they handle the documents, making it sometimes difficult to ensure that redactions are secure.

In some cases, importing PDFs, and even copying and pasting the content, can reveal redacted information.

The incident emphasises the complexities of such a high-stakes trial, with even the most sophisticated and seasoned technology companies such as Meta occasionally stumbling when using the digital tools that have become so prominent in our daily lives.

Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg leaves the federal court in Washington. Photo: Bloomberg
Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg leaves the federal court in Washington. Photo: Bloomberg

The first two-days of the trial have generated significant media interest. The Washington district courtroom was packed and the spillover media room full of reporters watching as Meta's founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg took to the witness box to defend his company against what the FTC alleges in anticompetitive behaviour.

Throughout the trial, which could last as long as three months, executives and engineers from Snapchat, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon and others are expected to be called as witnesses.

Meta's former chief executive Sheryl Sandberg is expected to take the witness box on Wednesday, and Instagram head Adam Mosseri is expected to be eventually called by the FTC.

At the heart of the federal government's arguments is Meta's purchase of Instagram in 2012 and its acquisition of WhatsApp in 2014.

The FTC's lawyer, Daniel Matheson, spent two days questioning Mr Zuckerberg about the acquisitions, implying that Meta bought the companies rather than competing against them. At one point, the Meta founder implied that ideally, Meta would have preferred that its own efforts at building something similar to Instagram had come to fruition instead.

“One billion dollars is very expensive,” he said of the Instagram acquisition.

If found guilty of anticompetitive behaviour, Meta could be forced to divest from Instagram and WhatsApp, which would be a major blow for Meta's ad revenue and market dominance.

“This case is a grab bag of FTC theories at war with the facts and the law,” Meta's lawyer said during opening arguments. “Meta is not a monopolist, and Meta’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp were pro-competitive, producing extraordinary efficiencies.”

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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE

When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.

RESULTS

6.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (Dirt) 1.600m
Winner: Miller’s House, Richard Mullen (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer).

7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 2,000m
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9.25pm: Conditions (TB) Dh 120,000 (D) 1,400m
Winner: Zhou Storm, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.

Red flags
  • Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
  • Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
  • Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
  • Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
  • Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.

Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching

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FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

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OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER

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EDITING

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COSTUME DESIGN

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PRODUCTION DESIGN

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SOUND

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  • STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER - David Acord, Andy Nelson, Christopher Scarabosio, Stuart Wilson, Matthew Wood

ORIGINAL SCORE

  • 1917 - Thomas Newman
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  • JOKER - Hildur Guđnadóttir
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  • STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER - John Williams

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS

  • 1917 - Greg Butler, Guillaume Rocheron, Dominic Tuohy
  • AVENGERS: ENDGAME - Dan Deleeuw, Dan Sudick
  • THE IRISHMAN - Leandro Estebecorena, Stephane Grabli, Pablo Helman
  • THE LION KING - Andrew R. Jones, Robert Legato, Elliot Newman, Adam Valdez
  • STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER - Roger Guyett, Paul Kavanagh, Neal Scanlan, Dominic Tuohy

MAKE UP & HAIR

  • 1917 - Naomi Donne
  • BOMBSHELL - Vivian Baker, Kazu Hiro, Anne Morgan
  • JOKER - Kay Georgiou, Nicki Ledermann
  • JUDY - Jeremy Woodhead
  • ROCKETMAN - Lizzie Yianni Georgiou

BRITISH SHORT FILM

  • AZAAR - Myriam Raja, Nathanael Baring
  • GOLDFISH - Hector Dockrill, Harri Kamalanathan, Benedict Turnbull, Laura Dockrill
  • KAMALI - Sasha Rainbow, Rosalind Croad
  • LEARNING TO SKATEBOARD IN A WARZONE (IF YOU’RE A GIRL) - Carol Dysinger, Elena Andreicheva
  • THE TRAP - Lena Headey, Anthony Fitzgerald

BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION

  • GRANDAD WAS A ROMANTIC - Maryam Mohajer
  • IN HER BOOTS - Kathrin Steinbacher
  • THE MAGIC BOAT  - Naaman Azh
Cricket World Cup League 2

UAE squad

Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind

Fixtures

Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE

Fixtures

Wednesday

4.15pm: Japan v Spain (Group A)

5.30pm: UAE v Italy (Group A)

6.45pm: Russia v Mexico (Group B)

8pm: Iran v Egypt (Group B)

Brighton 1
Gross (50' pen)

Tottenham 1
Kane (48)

The specs

AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 420hp

Torque: 623Nm

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)

On sale: Now

Sui Dhaaga: Made in India

Director: Sharat Katariya

Starring: Varun Dhawan, Anushka Sharma, Raghubir Yadav

3.5/5

Alita: Battle Angel

Director: Robert Rodriguez

Stars: Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Keean Johnson

Four stars

The%20Woman%20King%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Gina%20Prince-Bythewood%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Viola%20Davis%2C%20Thuso%20Mbedu%2C%20Sheila%20Atim%2C%20Lashana%20Lynch%2C%20John%20Boyega%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
While you're here
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Seemar’s top six for the Dubai World Cup Carnival:

1. Reynaldothewizard
2. North America
3. Raven’s Corner
4. Hawkesbury
5. New Maharajah
6. Secret Ambition

Gran Gala del Calcio 2019 winners

Best Player: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
Best Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta)
Best Referee: Gianluca Rocchi
Best Goal: Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria vs Napoli)
Best Team: Atalanta​​​​​​​
Best XI: Samir Handanovic (Inter); Aleksandar Kolarov (Roma), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli), Joao Cancelo (Juventus*); Miralem Pjanic (Juventus), Josip Ilicic (Atalanta), Nicolo Barella (Cagliari*); Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Duvan Zapata (Atalanta)
Serie B Best Young Player: Sandro Tonali (Brescia)
Best Women’s Goal: Thaisa (Milan vs Juventus)
Best Women’s Player: Manuela Giugliano (Milan)
Best Women’s XI: Laura Giuliani (Milan); Alia Guagni (Fiorentina), Sara Gama (Juventus), Cecilia Salvai (Juventus), Elisa Bartoli (Roma); Aurora Galli (Juventus), Manuela Giugliano (Roma), Valentina Cernoia (Juventus); Valentina Giacinti (Milan), Ilaria Mauro (Fiorentina), Barbara Bonansea (Juventus)

ENGLAND SQUAD

Joe Root (captain), Dom Sibley, Rory Burns, Dan Lawrence, Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Ben Foakes (wicketkeeper), Moeen Ali, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes, Jack Leach, Stuart Broad

Where to apply

Applicants should send their completed applications - CV, covering letter, sample(s) of your work, letter of recommendation - to Nick March, Assistant Editor in Chief at The National and UAE programme administrator for the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism, by 5pm on April 30, 2020

Please send applications to nmarch@thenational.ae and please mark the subject line as “Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism (UAE programme application)”.

The local advisory board will consider all applications and will interview a short list of candidates in Abu Dhabi in June 2020. Successful candidates will be informed before July 30, 2020. 

FIGHT CARD

From 5.30pm in the following order:

Featherweight

Marcelo Pontes (BRA) v Azouz Anwar (EGY)

Catchweight 90kg

Moustafa Rashid Nada (KSA) v Imad Al Howayeck (LEB)

Welterweight

Mohammed Al Khatib (JOR) v Gimbat Ismailov (RUS)

Flyweight (women)

Lucie Bertaud (FRA) v Kelig Pinson (BEL)

Lightweight

Alexandru Chitoran (BEL) v Regelo Enumerables Jr (PHI)

Catchweight 100kg

Mohamed Ali (EGY) v Marc Vleiger (NED)

Featherweight

James Bishop (AUS) v Mark Valerio (PHI)

Welterweight

Gerson Carvalho (BRA) v Abdelghani Saber (EGY)

Middleweight 

Bakhtiyar Abbasov (AZE) v Igor Litoshik (BLR)

Bantamweight:

Fabio Mello (BRA) v Mark Alcoba (PHI)

Welterweight

Ahmed Labban (LEB) v Magomedsultan Magemedsultanov (RUS)

Bantamweight

Trent Girdham (AUS) v Jayson Margallo (PHI)

Lightweight

Usman Nurmagomedov (RUS) v Roman Golovinov (UKR)

Middleweight

Tarek Suleiman (SYR) v Steve Kennedy (AUS)

Lightweight

Dan Moret (USA) v Anton Kuivanen (FIN)

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Updated: April 17, 2025, 3:07 AM`