Parents, ACLU sue NJ city over Facebook records
TRENTON, N.J. — The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey is suing the state’s biggest city for refusing to release records related to a $100 million gift pledged to its schools by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
The ACLU filed the lawsuit on behalf of a parents group it says was denied access to records requested under New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act.
The request sought to review correspondence among Zuckerberg, Newark employees including Mayor Cory Booker, state officials and others involved in the deal.
The ACLU says the parents want to know more about how the highly publicized gift would be used.
The city denied the request, claiming the communications were exempt from the open records law.
A telephone call to Booker’s office on Tuesday hasn’t been returned.
Facebook has offices in Palo Alto and Menlo Park, Calif.