Meta fined $25 billion by New Mexico court for misleading users over privacy
A judge in the US state of New Mexico has ordered Meta to pay a fine of 25 billion dollars for giving misleading information about users' personal data privacy and Facebook's policies. It is among the largest fines ever imposed on a major technology company.
Judge Francis J. Mathew of the Santa Fe State District Court issued the historic fine on Wednesday. After a two-week hearing, the court had ruled against Meta last month; the size of the penalty has now been finalised.
The court said Meta had violated New Mexico's consumer protection law at least 43 million times. The law allows a fine of up to 5,000 dollars for each violation — and it is the enormous number of violations that produced such a large total.
New Mexico authorities filed the case against Meta in 2021. It centred on the controversial data leak involving the political consultancy Cambridge Analytica. The case alleged that Meta had made misleading statements about the use of users' data and privacy, and about various Facebook policies.
The court's decision is a major blow to Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Meta is under pressure after losing a series of cases alleging that users were harmed through these platforms.
Authorities in various states and individual users have filed thousands of lawsuits against Meta. The cases allege harm to children's safety through Facebook and Instagram, promotion of social media addiction, use of people's data without permission, and violations of privacy.
New Mexico is currently leading the legal fight against Meta and has achieved notable success, winning large fines in case after case and setting a precedent.
In a separate case over harm to children and teenagers, a New Mexico judge fined Meta another 567 million dollars last August. Earlier, in March, Meta had been fined 375 million dollars in the same case.
Altogether, legal pressure on the tech giant is mounting across the United States. Observers say the courts' strict stance on privacy and child safety also carries a message for other platforms in the future.
The question now is whether Meta will appeal the enormous fine and how the legal battle unfolds. Given the scale of the penalty, the case is expected to remain in discussion for a long time to come.
