Meta ordered by New Mexico court to pay 25 billion dollars over data deception
Meta Platforms was ordered to pay a groundbreaking US$25 billion civil penalty to the state of New Mexico in a consumer deception case spurred by the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
The fine issued by state court Judge Francis Mathew is among the largest verdicts issued in US legal history.
The award comes after a jury in Santa Fe determined that Meta had violated the state’s consumer protection over 43 million times based on widely viewed deceptive statements made by the company and its top...
A state judge has ordered Meta Platforms to pay $25 billion in civil fines to New Mexico, marking one of the largest legal penalties ever handed down in the United States.
The massive financial sanction follows a consumer deception lawsuit linked to the long-running Cambridge Analytica data privacy controversy. State court Judge Francis Mathew imposed the fine after a jury in Santa Fe concluded that the social media giant had repeatedly misled the public.
Jurors found that the parent company of Facebook breached the state's consumer protection legislation more than 43 million times. The findings centered on misleading representations by the tech corporation and its senior leadership regarding user data management and efforts to control hate speech on its networks.
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The lawsuit accused the tech firm of misinforming users about data security protocols and privacy standards following public revelations surrounding Cambridge Analytica.
Under the provisions of the New Mexico Unfair Practices Act, the presiding judge was empowered to assign fines reaching as high as $5,000 for each confirmed infraction, paving the way for the multibillion-dollar ruling against the tech conglomerate.
