Meta ordered to pay $25 billion to New Mexico in data privacy ruling
A jury found that the social media company had deceived consumers for years about its data privacy policies.
Key points
- A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $25 billion after a jury found it deceived consumers about data privacy.
- The case involved a third-party quiz that harvested data from about 87 million profiles and sold it to Cambridge Analytica.
- New Mexico's attorney general called the amount one of the largest state verdicts against a company in US history.
A judge in New Mexico has ordered Meta to pay $25 billion to the state after a jury found the social media company deceived consumers for years about its data privacy policies. Judge Francis Mathew issued the amount, which New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez called one of the largest state verdicts against a company in American history.
What the judge said
In his ruling, Mathew wrote that the company's communications were part of a coherent strategy designed to mislead the public. The verdict followed a jury finding that Meta misled users about how their data was handled.
one of the largest, if not the single largest state verdict against a company in American history
— Raúl Torrez
Origins of the case
The case stemmed from allegations that Facebook deceived users about a data breach tied to a third-party personality quiz. The quiz harvested data from roughly 87 million profiles and sold it to a political consulting firm, Cambridge Analytica, to generate targeted ads.
Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The article notes the story is breaking news and will be updated.
