Meta Ordered To Pay US$25 Billion Over User Data Practices

Meta, the company that owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has been ordered to pay US$25 billion in damages after a New Mexico court found it had misled the public about how it handled users’ personal information.

The ruling was delivered by Judge Francis Mathew on Wednesday, following a two-week trial earlier this year. The court found that the company had engaged in unlawful practices between 2010 and 2021.

According to the ruling, communications involving senior executives, including chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, were intended to mislead the public about how Facebook users’ data was accessed and shared with third parties.

The jury found that Meta had violated state laws more than 40 million times, affecting about two million people in New Mexico.

The case was partly linked to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which personal information belonging to millions of Facebook users was used for political consulting, including activities associated with the 2016 United States presidential election.

Authorities in New Mexico also accused Meta of misleading users about its handling of hate speech and enforcement of platform policies.

State Attorney General Raúl Torrez said the decision showed that large technology companies could be held accountable under the law.

“For too long, powerful technology companies have operated as though their size and influence put them beyond the reach of the law,” Torrez said.

Meta has disputed the allegations and said it intends to appeal. The company’s chief legal officer, CJ Mahoney, argued that the ruling could make it difficult to operate in New Mexico and described the lawsuit as an attempt to restrict online speech.

The US$25 billion penalty would mark a major financial blow to Meta as it continues investing heavily in artificial intelligence, with planned spending of between US$135 billion and US$145 billion this year.

The case adds to growing scrutiny of technology companies over data privacy and online safety.