A New Mexico judge has ordered Meta to pay a $25 billion fine after a jury found the company guilty of privacy breaches and knowingly exposing users in the state to harmful content, according to Reuters.
The case stems from the 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which the personal information of millions of Facebook users was made available to a political lobbying group without users’ consent.
Meta has repeatedly downplayed the impacts of that leak, with Meta executive Andrew Bosworth saying in 2020 that Cambridge Analytica was a “non-event” and that the lobbying group was essentially a collection of “snake oil salesmen” who had no real influence.
But even so, the case revealed significant gaps in Meta’s data security, which prompted the FTC to issue the company with a $5 billion fine for related breaches in 2019.
A coalition of 52 attorneys general across the U.S. later sought additional penalties on behalf of Facebook users in their regions. Those claims were eventually rolled into a bigger legal push to hold Meta accountable for failing to protect young users. The company settled that case for $18 billion in August.
New Mexico, however, opted to pursue its own case, which led to this new penalty.
As per Reuters: “The state accused Meta of lying to Facebook users in New Mexico about who had access to their data and its handling of hate speech and misinformation posted on the platform. It alleged the company knew third parties had broad access to users' data and tolerated hate speech or other harmful content when it benefited the company's bottom line.”
After a jury ruled that Meta was liable, the judge set the penalty at $25 billion, while also acknowledging that a larger $219 billion penalty was warranted under New Mexico state law.
It’s another significant blow for the company, which continues to be hit with massive fines both in the U.S. and internationally.
The case also damages Meta’s safety efforts. This is particularly important as the company tries to convince people to share more of their personal information with its Muse artificial intelligence agents.
Reuters said Meta Chief Legal Officer C.J. Mahoney criticized the decision. In a statement, Mahoney said the ruling imposes significant restrictions on businesses seeking to operate in the state.
Mahoney also told Reuters that Meta will appeal the penalty.
