On Wednesday, Santa Fe-based Judge Francis J. Mathew affirmed the penalty, writing that Meta appears to have intentionally misled the public about its products, policies, and practices.
A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay the state $25 billion for deceiving users about its privacy practices.
According to The New York Times, the state first filed suit against Meta in 2021. Most of its claims focused on a scandal involving Cambridge Analytica, “which brought international attention to the misuse of personal information collected through the platform.”
“The State’s litigation went beyond the scandal itself, challenging Facebook’s representations to consumers about its data practices and its efforts to address misinformation and hate speech,” New Mexico officials said in a press release.
Last week, after a two-week trial, a jury found Meta liable for more than 43 million violations of New Mexico’s consumer protection laws. Each of these violations, notes The New York Times, carries a penalty of up to $5,000.
“This is a historic day for New Mexico and for consumers across the country,” New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez said. “For too long, powerful technology companies have operated as though their size and influence put them beyond the reach of the law. A New Mexico jury found nearly 44 million violations of our consumer protection statute, and this penalty order demonstrates that those violations carry real consequences. We took on one of the largest companies in the world because New Mexicans deserve honesty, accountability, and the protection of their personal information. Today’s result makes clear that no corporation is too powerful to be held accountable.”
On Wednesday, Santa Fe-based Judge Francis J. Mathew affirmed the penalty, writing that Meta appears to have intentionally misled the public about its products, policies, and practices.
“The harm in this matter is difficult to overstate, and goes to the heart of Facebook’s basic business proposition,” Mathew said, writing that an “extraordinary number of willful violations” over the course of many years “support the highest level of penalty.”
“This case has always been about more than one company or one scandal,” Torrez said in an October press release. “It is about whether corporations can mislead consumers about what happens to their personal information without facing meaningful consequences. New Mexico stood its ground, took this case to trial, and secured a verdict establishing millions of violations of our law. This outcome reinforces a fundamental principle, companies that do business in our state must follow our laws and respect the rights of our people.”
Sources
Meta ordered to pay $25 billion penalty in New Mexico Cambridge Analytica case
Meta Ordered to Pay $25 Billion Over Cambridge Analytica Privacy Violations
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