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Will Meta’s $25 Billion Court Loss Change Its Ways? (Spoiler: Probably Not)

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Will Meta’s $25 Billion Court Loss Change Its Ways? (Spoiler: Probably Not)

A series of judgments and settlements don't seem to be slowing Meta's provocative privacy practices.

Meta was hit with a $25 billion penalty on Wednesday when a judge in New Mexico found the company had misled users about data privacy practices. The decision marks one of the steepest corporate payouts ever levied against a technology company.

Under the ruling, Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and other platforms and services, was ordered to pay the fee for misleading social media consumers about their data privacy in a case dating back to Cambridge Analytica’s privacy violations involving the 2016 presidential election. The ruling against Meta imposed civil penalties for violating New Mexico’s Unfair Practices Act after a jury trial found Facebook liable for nearly 44 million violations of that law.

Meta could appeal the verdict; it was unsuccessful in its filings to cap its penalties at $3.45 billion. It could have been worse for the company. Some estimates had suggested it could have been hit with $219 billion in penalties.

A representative for Meta didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

“A New Mexico jury found nearly 44 million violations of our consumer protection statute, and this penalty order demonstrates that those violations carry real consequences,” New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez said in a statement. “Today’s result makes clear that no corporation is too powerful to be held accountable.”

Meta previously paid $725 million to users to settle a lawsuit over Cambridge Analytica, a high-profile scandal in which a British consulting firm working with the Donald Trump presidential campaign was given access to Facebook user data.


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