San Francisco, Aug 27 (IANS): In a relief for Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg, the top Meta executives will not depose in a lawsuit about the Cambridge Analytica scandal, after the social network reached an out-of-court settlement with the plaintiffs.

The depositions were set to happen sometime before September 20 where Zuckerberg was to answer questions for up to six hours, while Sandberg could face up to five hours of deposition.

The deposition came as part of a lawsuit filed in a California court on behalf of Facebook users impacted by Meta's partnership with Cambridge Analytica.

According to The Verge, Meta and the plaintiffs have now reached an agreement and requested a stay of 60 days to finalise their written agreement.

The lawsuit had alleged that Facebook illegally shared user data with third parties.

In the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Facebook gained access to the private data of 67 million Facebook users, which was used to profile voters.

Sandberg has now stepped down from her key role as Meta's Chief Operating Officer after 14 years as the company's second-highest ranking executive.

Meta has appointed its chief growth officer Javier Olivan as the new CEO.

Sandberg will remain a Meta employee through September 30, after which she will continue as a board member.