Alter Skandal, neues Urteil: Rückschlag für Meta vor Gericht wegen Cambridge Analytica

The long-standing data protection scandal involving Cambridge Analytica dealt Meta, the parent company of Facebook, a setback in court. Jurors in New Mexico's federal district court ruled that users were misled regarding privacy and freedom of speech. The presiding judge is now tasked with determining the severity of the fine, which could be substantial.

For each violation, the fine can reach up to $5,000. Jurors found Meta liable for most of the 34 questions posed, with between 1.3 and 2.1 million violations per question, given the number of affected users, according to the financial news outlet Bloomberg. The Cambridge Analytica scandal had significantly damaged public trust in the Facebook company back in 2018.

It involved using information from a seemingly harmless survey conducted by a data researcher for creating user profiles and sharing it with Cambridge Analytica. The team representing then-presidential candidate Donald Trump also used this data ahead of the 2016 US presidential election. Altogether, around 87 million user accounts were affected.

The company paid about six billion dollars to the US government to conduct the investigation. Following the scandal, New Mexico took the company to court in 2021, also accusing Meta of infringing on freedom of expression on the platform. This was based on revelations in a whistleblower's report, which stated that some prominent accounts had secretly been exempted from the platform's rules.

Meta, however, disagreed with the jury's decision and stated its intention to continue defending itself against the allegations. The company, in accordance with US law, has the right to operate its platforms as it deems appropriate in the interest of its users, including prioritizing freedom of speech, protecting user information, and giving them control over their data.