A US judge has ordered Meta to pay $25 billion after a jury found that Facebook misled users about data privacy during the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
New Mexico District Court Judge Francis Mathew issued the ruling on Wednesday, October 21, after a jury found Meta responsible for more than 43 million violations of the state’s consumer protection laws.
The case focused on Facebook’s handling of user information and its misleading statements about privacy and content moderation.
New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez described the ruling as one of the largest state verdicts against a company in US history.
Cambridge Analytica Scandal
The lawsuit stems from the Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which the political consulting firm collected Facebook user data to create targeted political advertisements during the 2016 US presidential election.
In September, jurors found Meta liable for more than 43 million violations of New Mexico’s consumer protection laws.
During the trial, jurors examined 34 separate statements Facebook made about user privacy and content moderation.
State prosecutors argued that the misleading claims affected New Mexico’s entire population, including people who did not use Facebook.
The jury agreed, finding 2.1 million violations on certain counts and bringing the total to more than 43 million.
Meta Plans to Appeal
Meta has announced plans to appeal the $25 billion ruling.
The company’s lawyers argued that New Mexico’s consumer protection laws should not apply to residents who were not Facebook users when the alleged violations occurred.
Meta also disputed the state’s claims about its privacy practices and defended changes made to its platform since the lawsuit was filed in 2021.
Meanwhile, 48 other US states reached a nationwide settlement with Facebook, while New Mexico pursued its case independently.
Facebook Defends Content Policies
During the trial, New Mexico prosecutors also accused Facebook of allowing harmful and misleading content to spread while giving preferential treatment to certain accounts.
However, jurors found that the state had not proven Facebook made false claims about removing harmful content, including misinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg denied allegations that Facebook profited from harmful content during his video deposition.
He said the company must balance freedom of expression with content moderation.
Facebook’s lawyers also argued that the platform has improved its policies and now removes 99% of content that violates its standards.
$25 Billion for Education
The $25 billion penalty is expected to support education spending in New Mexico once the funds are collected.
However, Meta’s planned appeal could delay payment and potentially change the final penalty.
According to Reuters, legal experts believe Meta may have grounds to challenge the size of the penalty, particularly the calculation of violations involving residents who may not have seen Facebook’s statements.
The ruling marks one of the largest financial penalties imposed on Meta over its handling of user privacy, although the amount remains subject to appeal.
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