After backlash, Mark Zuckerberg drops lawsuits against Hawaiians over their land

Mark Zuckerberg is dropping his lawsuits that would have forced hundreds of people in Hawaii to sell their land.

The "quiet title" process, which allows rightful ownership of land to be decided before a judge, would likely have granted ownership of Hawaiian land to the Facebook founder instead of hundreds of family members who share in partial ownership.

"To find a better path forward, we are dropping our quiet title actions and will work together with the community on a new approach. We understand that for native Hawaiians, kuleana are sacred and the quiet title process can be difficult. We want to make this right, talk with the community, and find a better approach," Zuckerberg wrote in a an op-ed for the Kauai newspaper The Garden Island announcing his decision to drop the cases.

Zuckerberg bought 700 acres of land on the island of Kauai for $100 million in 2014. But he didn't yet have the exclusive rights to all of it, hence his quiet title lawsuits.

The billionaire faced growing backlash as news of his legal action in Hawaii spread.

The complicated law surrounding Hawaiian land stems from an 1850 monarchical rule that allowed private ownership of kuleana land, where parcels could be bought and then would be passed along to future generations. Hawaiian land before 1850 was not governed by similar laws.

Zuckerberg himself described that process and released a Facebook post as a statement shortly after the media backlash. Zuckerberg had done his research, a source familiar with the matter told Mashable. Indeed, he had researchers look into genealogy and dig up hundreds of names of people who rightfully owned his land.

"Upon reflection, I regret that I did not take the time to fully understand the quiet title process and its history before we moved ahead. Now that I understand the issues better, it's clear we made a mistake," Zuckerberg wrote Friday.

Zuckerberg still owns land in Kauai, and he said in his op-ed that he and his wife, Priscilla Chan, want to be "good members of the community for the long term."

"The right path is to sit down and discuss how to best move forward. We will continue to speak with community leaders that represent different groups, including native Hawaiians and environmentalists, to find the best path," Zuckerberg wrote.