Meta ordered to pay $25 billion in Cambridge Analytica case
A New Mexico judge ordered Facebook's parent company, Meta, to pay $25 billion for misleading users over the Cambridge Analytica breach, which took place during Donald Trump's first presidential campaign.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has been ordered to pay $25 billion to the US state of New Mexico following a jury verdict. The case stems from the 2016 Cambridge Analytica scandal, where a third-party app harvested data from 87 million Facebook profiles and sold it to a UK-based political consulting firm. This data was then used for targeted advertising, including campaigns for then-presidential candidate Donald Trump.
New Mexico refused to settle the case with Facebook, which led to the lawsuit. The state argued that Facebook mislead its 2.1 million residents about its privacy practices and allowed the spread of misinformation and harmful content. After a jury found Facebook liable for over 43 million violations of New Mexico's consumer protection laws, the court determined the $25 billion fine.
While lower than the $35 billion-$40 billion demanded by prosecutors, this fine significantly exceeds the $3.45 billion cap suggested by Meta's legal team. New Mexico's Attorney General, Raul Torrez, emphasized that the payment should send a clear message to Silicon Valley, and the funds may ultimately benefit the state's education system.
Written by urgent.news from Deutsche Welle Science's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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