Meta fined $25bn for 'lies' over user data privacy
The fine is the largest to date against Facebook's owner, larger than an $18bn deal with California.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has been ordered by a New Mexico judge to pay $25 billion for misleading the public about its handling of user data. This substantial fine marks the largest ever imposed against the company. The ruling followed a two-week trial, during which the judge found Meta had consistently lied about its data practices for years.
These lies extended beyond Facebook and Instagram, impacting the core of the company's business operations. Meta's defense lawyer, CJ Mahoney, stated that the ruling makes it extremely difficult for the company to continue doing business in New Mexico, and they plan to appeal the decision. The fine is the largest ever levied against Meta, which has faced multiple legal issues this year, including a $18 billion settlement with California over child safety.
The New Mexico lawsuit stemmed from the Cambridge Analytica scandal, where Meta allegedly used data from millions of users without consent, affecting its political consulting work leading up to the 2016 US presidential election. New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez emphasized that no corporation is above the law, while Meta's legal team argued that the fine would be unconstitutional if it exceeded $3.4 billion.
Judge Francis Mathew, however, deemed Meta's actions willful and spanning over a decade, ordering the fine to be a significant portion of the company's quarterly profits.
Written by urgent.news from BBC World's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
