US: Meta ordered to pay $25 billion for misleading users about privacy
New Mexico’s Attorney General, Raúl Torrez, described the ruling as ‘one of the largest, if not the largest, state-imposed penalty against a company in American history’
A judge has ordered Meta to pay $25 billion to New Mexico after a jury found the company liable for misleading users regarding privacy and content moderation on Facebook. At a press conference, the state’s Attorney General, Raúl Torrez, described the ruling as ‘one of the largest, if not the largest, state-level fine imposed on a company in American history’.
The ruling follows a decision in September in which the jury found Meta liable for over 43 million breaches of state consumer protection laws. The breaches stem from the Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which users’ data was collected for political advertising purposes during the 2016 elections. New Mexico pursued the case independently after 48 other states had reached a settlement. Meta is expected to appeal.
