On Wednesday, a judge in the state of New Mexico in the U.S. ruled that Meta company must pay a fine of $25 billion to the state. A jury in the state last Friday ruled that Meta had deceived users on Facebook regarding privacy issues. This is the largest fine imposed on the tech giant so far.
In a ruling by Judge Francis J. Mathew of a state district court in New Mexico, it was stated that Facebook’s deceptive behavior was intentional, and that executives of Meta had misled users, concealing the operation of the Facebook platform.
Mathew wrote, “Facebook promised users that they control their own data. This is false.”
The lawsuit was brought by the New Mexico Attorney General in 2021, accusing Meta of allowing the British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica to collect personal data of Facebook users without authorization.
The state believed that Meta misled New Mexicans on how they shared user data with third parties, that Facebook platform did not disclose selling user data to third parties, and allowed harmful content to spread, which was beneficial for the company’s profits.
Last Friday, a jury, after a two-week trial, ruled that Meta’s actions violated the New Mexico Consumer Protection Act, with over 43 million instances of such violations.
Mathew stated on Wednesday that he determined the fine based on the number of people affected by Meta’s deceptive practices. Under New Mexico law, a maximum fine of $5,000 can be imposed for each violation.
Meta denied selling user information. A spokesperson for the company stated that they disagreed with the ruling and would appeal to continue defending themselves, “against any attempt to distort our past actions.”
The spokesperson also mentioned that Meta has the right to manage social media platforms based on the freedom of speech granted by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, “which means prioritizing freedom of speech, protecting our users’ information, allowing them to control their data.”
In August of this year, Meta reached a settlement with over 40 states regarding lawsuits on child safety on social media platforms, agreeing to pay $18 billion to resolve these lawsuits and to enhance child safety measures on their Facebook and Instagram platforms. These states had previously accused these social media platforms of being intentionally designed to be addictive, thus harming the mental health of teenagers. However, New Mexico did not join this multi-state settlement agreement but chose to take legal action against Meta independently. The case then proceeded to trial in New Mexico.
(This article is based on Reuters reporting)