In a courtroom in New Mexico, a judge has ordered Meta, the company behind Facebook, to pay $25 billion after a jury concluded that the platform had long promised users a control over their personal data that did not exist. The roots of the matter reach back to the Cambridge Analytica affair of 2016, when the private information of some 87 million profiles passed into the hands of a political consultancy. It is a reminder that a promise made to millions of ordinary people can become a matter of public reckoning, and that a single small state, refusing to accept a broader settlement, can change
Meta Ordered to Pay $25 Billion to New Mexico Over Deceptive Privacy Claims
Data from some 87 million Facebook profiles was harvested and sold, and New Mexico argued its roughly 2.1 million residents were deceived about privacy.
Speak to Meta in the only language it understands: money.
Mark
Why did New Mexico's case end up so much bigger than the settlement everyone else took?
Mimi
Most states settled together in August for $18 billion total. New Mexico stayed out and sued alone, and now it has a $25 billion order for one state of about 2.1 million people.
Luke
Worth being careful, though. The $25 billion is a court order, not money in hand. Torrez himself said it will likely be tied up in appeals.
Mark
What exactly did the jury find?
Mimi
More than 43 million violations of New Mexico consumer protection laws. The judge wrote that Facebook told users they controlled their data, and that was false.
Luke
And the jury verdict was about deception over privacy and content moderation. The reporting doesn't say how the 43 million count was calculated, so I wouldn't read more into that number.
Mark
Did the state prove people were harmed?
Mimi
Meta says it didn't. The state argued the whole population was deceived by public statements.
Luke
That's the live dispute, and appeals may turn on it. We only have Meta's argument in summary here, not the court's full reasoning.
Mark
And the education fund?
Mimi
By law the fine goes there. Torrez said it might pay for school construction for a century, but that's his hope, not a forecast.
Der Puls
- A judge has ordered Meta to pay $25 billion, a sum that lands far above the $3.45 billion the company's lawyers had offered as a ceiling.
- The case grew from the Cambridge Analytica breach, when data from some 87 million Facebook profiles was harvested and sold for political targeting.
- New Mexico refused to join a nearly $18 billion multistate settlement and pushed its own suit, forcing a jury trial over deception and content moderation.
- The jury found more than 43 million violations of consumer protection law, and Meta has vowed to keep fighting what it calls distortions of its record.
- Appeals are expected to stall the money for years, even as the state's attorney general insists the fine will fund schools for a century.
In a courtroom in New Mexico, a judge has ordered Meta, the company behind Facebook, to pay $25 billion after a jury concluded that the platform had long promised users a control over their personal data that did not exist. The roots of the matter reach back to the Cambridge Analytica affair of 2016, when the private information of some 87 million profiles passed into the hands of a political consultancy. It is a reminder that a promise made to millions of ordinary people can become a matter of public reckoning, and that a single small state, refusing to accept a broader settlement, can change the weight of a reckoning for an entire industry.
A judge in New Mexico has ordered Meta, the parent company of Facebook, to pay the state $25 billion, roughly €22.5 billion. After a jury verdict, the court found that Facebook had told its users they controlled their data, and that this was false. Judge Francis Mathew stated the core of the finding plainly.
The story begins with the 2016 Cambridge Analytica scandal, when a third-party quiz harvested data from some 87 million profiles and passed it to a British political consulting firm. That data was used for targeted advertising, including campaign ads for Donald Trump's first presidential run.
In August, nearly all US states agreed to a settlement worth $18 billion that also shielded the company from future liability over the breach. New Mexico declined to join and brought its own suit. Prosecutors argued that Facebook's privacy statements deceived the state's roughly 2.1 million residents and that the platform let misinformation and violent content spread. Meta countered that no one had been proven harmed and that its moderation was robust.
In September the jury found more than 43 million violations of state consumer protection law. The $25 billion figure falls between the $35 to $40 billion sought by prosecutors and the $3.45 billion cap Meta proposed. Attorney General Raul Torrez called it an unambiguous message to Silicon Valley and said the money is legally bound for the state's education fund, though appeals will likely delay it. Meta says it will keep defending itself.
A judge in New Mexico has ordered Meta, the parent company of Facebook, to pay the state $25 billion, about €22.5 billion, after a jury found that Facebook deceived its users about their privacy and about how it moderated content. Judge Francis Mathew put the core of the finding plainly in his order after the Wednesday verdict: Facebook promised users they controlled their data, and that was false.
The case traces back to the 2016 Cambridge Analytica scandal. A third-party quiz harvested data from some 87 million Facebook profiles and sold it to the UK-based political consulting firm. The firm used the data for targeted advertising, including campaign ads for Donald Trump's first run for president.
New Mexico arrived at this verdict by refusing a deal. In August, nearly all US states agreed to settle with Facebook over a range of legal issues, for a combined payment of $18 billion. That settlement also released the company from future liability over the Cambridge Analytica breach. New Mexico declined to join and filed its own lawsuit.
Prosecutors argued that Facebook's public statements about privacy deceived the state's entire population of about 2.1 million people. They also argued the platform allowed misinformation and violent content to spread. Meta's lawyers countered that the state had not proved anyone was actually harmed by those statements, and said the platform had robust content moderation.
In September, the jury found Facebook liable for more than 43 million violations of New Mexico's consumer protection laws. Meta said it would keep defending itself against what it called efforts to distort its record. With liability settled, it fell to the court to set the amount.
The $25 billion figure sits between the two sides' positions. It is below the $35 billion to $40 billion that New Mexico's prosecutors sought, but far above the $3.45 billion cap Meta's lawyers proposed. During the trial, state attorney Randi McGinn urged the court to speak to Meta in the only language she said it understands: money, and the value of its stock price.
On Wednesday, New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez called the outcome an unambiguous message to Silicon Valley. He acknowledged that the money will likely be tied up in appeals, but noted that the fine is legally due to go into New Mexico's education fund. "We may have paid for the construction of schools for the next 100 years," he said.
The ruling is the latest in a string of legal challenges facing large social media companies in the US and elsewhere. It follows a separate verdict in New Mexico in August that ordered Facebook to pay $567 million over harm to children. Meta's appeal will determine whether any of the $25 billion reaches the state's schools.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
Facebook promised users that they controlled their data. This was false.— Judge Francis Mathew, in his order
We may have paid for the construction of schools for the next 100 years.— Raul Torrez, New Mexico Attorney General
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