Donald Trump · Meta · Facebook · United Kingdom · The Guardian Technology
Meta ordered to pay $25bn to New Mexico in Cambridge Analytica data-privacy case
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A judge in New Mexico ordered Meta Platforms to pay $25bn on Wednesday after a jury found the company had misled consumers in a case arising from allegations that a political consulting firm involved in Donald Trump ’s 2016 presidential campaign obtained data from millions of Facebook users without their consent.
Key facts
- Mathew found that a penalty of more than $219bn was warranted, based on state law, but he reduced the figure to $25bn
- Jurors on 25 September found that 26 of 29 statements made by the company and its leadership on those issues were misleading
- Despite the hefty payments, Meta still reported a 26% increase in quarterly revenue up to $64.6bn
- New Mexico’s attorney general had sued Meta in 2021 following revelations that Cambridge Analytica, a British political consulting firm, had harvested personal data from as many as 87 million
Summary
“Facebook’s wrongdoing, over the course of years and systematically broadcast to the public, goes to the heart of Facebook’s core business practices,” Judge Francis Mathew wrote in his order following the verdict. Mathew found that a penalty of more than $219bn was warranted, based on state law, but he reduced the figure to $25bn. A spokesperson for Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Settlements over the social networks’ safety are growing so large that Meta is reporting significant drags on its business.