US Court Fines Meta $25 Billion for Misleading Practices

A judge in New Mexico ordered Meta Platforms to pay $25 billion, after a jury concluded that the company misled consumers, in a case linked to allegations that a political consulting firm involved in Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign obtained data from millions of Facebook users without their consent.

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez said the ruling is one of the largest, if not the largest, judgments issued at the state level against the company in the United States.

Judge Francis Matthew wrote in his decision following the verdict, “Facebook’s violations, which persisted over the years and were systematically disclosed to the public, strike at the core of Facebook’s fundamental business practices.”

Matthew found that state law justified imposing a penalty exceeding $219 billion, but reduced the amount to $25 billion.

In a statement, CJ Mahoney, Meta’s chief legal officer, said the company is confident it will prevail on appeal.

Mahoney said, “This ruling, and the Attorney General’s approach to enforcing it, make it nearly impossible to conduct business in New Mexico.”

He added, “This lawsuit essentially seeks to impose a tax on free speech in order to enforce new rules on what people can say online.”

The company had previously stated that imposing a multi-billion-dollar penalty could violate its constitutional rights, particularly the right to due process and protection against excessive fines.