Meta’s $25 billion legal loss just put blood in the water
When attorneys general from across the US announced a $17 billion settlement with Meta this summer, the sum was unprecedented. But a ruling last week by a New Mexico judge blew that number out of the water. The judge ordered Meta to pay $25 billion to resolve claims that Meta misled users around the 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal and related incidents. Similar claims were resolved by the settlement with most other…
Key points
- A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $25 billion over claims it misled users about the 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal.
- The order dwarfs the $17 billion multistate settlement and a $459 million payment covering similar claims in most states.
- Meta's chief legal officer said the company is confident it will prevail on appeal and called the suit a tax on speech.
A New Mexico judge last week ordered Meta to pay $25 billion to resolve claims that it misled users about the 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal and related incidents. The order covers millions of violations of New Mexico's unfair practices law after a jury found Meta misled users about how it protected their data and policed misinformation and hate speech.
The figure far exceeds the $17 billion settlement that attorneys general from across the US announced with Meta this summer. In most states, similar claims were covered by a section of the kids online safety settlement, resolved with a $459 million payment.
Meta plans to appeal
Meta's chief legal officer C.J. Mahoney said in a statement that the company is "confident we will prevail on appeal" and described New Mexico's lawsuit as an attempt to impose "a tax on speech." The outcome depends partly on whether the $25 billion order stands up to Meta's legal challenges.
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier, whose state did not join the Meta settlement, wrote on X that the multistate deal was "a slap on the wrist" and that Florida would not "sell out to Meta."
confident we will prevail on appeal
— C.J. Mahoney
Pressure on other states
Daphne Keller, director of platform regulation at the Stanford Program in Law, Science & Technology, said settling attorneys general may feel regret over claims they waived and could look for remaining claims to pursue. She said the ruling is encouraging for individuals, school districts and tribes with outstanding claims.
The District of Columbia did not settle its Cambridge Analytica claims and is continuing its lawsuit in court. States that joined the settlement cannot pursue covered claims against Meta but could seek more in cases against other social media companies, including TikTok, YouTube and Snap.
