Court reduces Meta’s fine from $219 billion to $25 billion
A New Mexico court ordered Meta to pay $25 billion for misleading Facebook users. The company deceived them about personal data protection, Qazinform News Agency reports.
Judge Francis Mathew issued the ruling on October 21. Jurors found nearly 43.9 million willful violations of the state’s Unfair Practices Act.
The case concerned Facebook’s public statements from May 2010 through August 2021. The company promised users control over their personal information. However, the court found that its privacy settings often failed to provide that control.
Specifically, limiting a post’s audience did not determine what information third-party developers could access. The company knew users did not understand the settings and exploited that confusion.
“Facebook was aware that its users did not understand its privacy settings and took advantage of that to a grossly unfair degree,” the ruling stated.
Statements found unlawful included those by Mark Zuckerberg and former Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg. The court described them as part of a coordinated strategy to mislead the public.
The company continued making promises despite internal warnings that it could not fulfill them. These concerned data access, efforts to combat misinformation, and enforcement of platform rules.
The court calculated the penalty using the maximum rate of $5,000 per violation. The total exceeded $219 billion, but the court reduced it to $25 billion. The penalty will accrue interest at 15% annually until paid in full.
The court also noted that previous penalties had failed to stop the violations. These included a $5 billion settlement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that Meta unveiled its Muse Wonder and Muse Wonder Full artificial intelligence models.