Three Meta executives were inadvertently named in a lawsuit this week as part of a California federal court filing brought by adult entertainers alleging that the employees engaged in bribery and manipulated internet databases, according to Engadget.
Nick Clegg, vice president of global policy at Meta, and Nicola Mendelsohn, vice president of the global business team at Meta, were among those identified as former “John Does” in the lawsuit. They were mentioned as being involved in a ruse in which they received bribes on behalf of OnlyFans to aid the platform in achieving a leg up over its competition.
“As we make clear in our motion to dismiss, we deny these allegations as they lack facts, merit, or anything that would make them plausible. The allegations are baseless,” a Meta spokesperson said in a statement.
The filing, made Tuesday, named Cristian Perrella as a third employee along with Clegg and Mendelsohn, according to TechStory. As indicated on LinkedIn, there is an employee at Meta who has the same name as Perrella and is currently employed as a trust and safety director at Facebook.
The lawsuit was filed by three entertainers, Dawn Dangaard, Kelly Gilbert, and Jennifer Allbaugh. To back their claims, the plaintiffs in the lawsuit anonymously made public wire transfers they say were sent to the executives via a subsidiary of OnlyFans. However, the authenticity of the transfers in question has not yet been confirmed.
In an additional filing, attorneys for OnlyFans parent company, Fenix Internet, LLC, insisted that the site “inadvertently” allowed the Meta leaders’ names to appear unredacted. OnlyFans then requested that the federal court remove the document that pertained to where the names were recorded, and simultaneously called the allegations “meritless.”
While Meta is rebuking the claims in public, attorneys for the corporation are more focused on asserting that even if the allegations are correct, Meta will still be ensured of being shielded. This includes having protection under the First Amendment and Section 320 of the Communications Decency Act.
OnlyFans owner Leonid Radvinsky is also among the defendants.
