NewzA judge on Wednesday ordered Meta to pay New Mexico $25 billion after a jury found the company liable for deceiving users about privacy on Facebook, marking the biggest fine ever against the tech giant.Facebook’s conduct was intentional and executives consistently misled users about how the platform worked, state District Court Judge Francis J. Mathew wrote in his ruling.“Facebook promised users that they (the users) controlled their data. This was false,” he said.State Attorney General Raúl Torrez said at a news conference that the award should be seen as a warning to tech companies that New Mexico will hold them accountable.“This judgment should be a signal, an unambiguous message, to Silicon Valley,” he said.Representatives for Meta, which previously said it plans to appeal the September verdict, didn't immediately respond to a message seeking comment about the amount.
The Menlo Park, California-based company was scheduled to report its quarterly earnings Wednesday afternoon and its shares were trading 2% higher following the penalty announcement.New Mexico goes it aloneIn August, Meta reached a settlement with nearly all states and territories — except New Mexico and Florida — to pay $18 billion and add stronger child-safety measures to its Facebook and Instagram platforms.The settlement ended a trial over teen social media addiction and resolved a pivotal case years in the making that sought to hold the tech giant accountable for the role its platforms played in undermining children’s mental health. The effort targeted features designed to grab young people’s attention.New Mexico wasn't part of the multistate settlement because it was pursuing its own case.Jurors in September found Meta liable for over 43 million violations of New Mexico consumer protection laws when a political consulting firm, Cambridge Analytica, harvested Facebook user data to generate targeted political ads for the 2016 election.Attorneys for New Mexico had sought $35 billion to $40 billion, arguing that the company would only change its ways with a sum that affected its stock price.Lawyers for Meta argued for paying no more than $3.4 billion. An award 10 times that or even more would violate due process, was unconstitutional and would not hold up under appeal, they said.Meta argued the state failed to prove misleading statements about privacy and that content moderation actually …
history, arguing the company would only change its ways with a sum that affected its stock price.Lawyers for Meta argued for paying no more than $3.4 billion. Interest on the penalty would accrue during an appeal, but the number of violations Meta is charged with could be reduced.Meta attorney Matt Nicholson argued in court that a sum as high as $40 billion would be “shocking to the conscience” while an attorney for New Mexico, Randi McGinn, urged standing up to “tech titans who think they are bulletproof and can do whatever they want.”Company argues state failed to prove harmThe state's case focused on accusations that Facebook deceived users about a data breach stemming from a third-party personality quiz that harvested data from roughly 87 million profiles and sold it to a political consulting firm, Cambridge Analytica, to generate targeted ads. The now-defunct firm’s clients include…
Judge Francis Mathew handed down the amount. The state had sought $35 billion to $40 billion. Jurors in September found Meta liable for over 43 million violations of New Mexico consumer protection laws when a political consulting firm, Cambridge Analytica, harvested Facebook user data to generate targeted political ads for the 2016 election.
Forty-eight other states settled with Facebook in a nationwide case, but New Mexico chose to take the social media company to court on its own. Attorneys for New Mexico sought what could have been the largest judgement in U.S. Lawyers for Meta argued for paying no more than $3.4 billion.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez has said they money will go into a state fund for education. Meta argued the state failed to prove misleading statements about privacy and that content moderation actually harmed New Mexicans. Meta attorney Matt Nicholson argued in court that a sum as high as $40 billion would be “shocking to the conscience” while an attorney for New Mexico, Randi McGinn, urged standing up to “tech titans who think they are bulletproof and can do whatever they want.” Company argues state failed to prove harm The state’s case focused on accusations that Facebook deceived users about a data breach stemming from a third-party personality quiz that harvested data from roughly 87 million profiles and sold it to a political consulting firm, Cambridge Analytica, to generate targeted ads.
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