Meta Faces Record $25 Billion Fine in US Over Facebook Privacy Violations

A US court has ordered Meta to pay $25 billion to New Mexico after a jury found that the technology giant misled users about privacy on Facebook, marking what the ruling describes as the biggest financial penalty imposed on the company.

State District Court Judge Francis J. Mathew said Meta’s conduct was intentional and that its executives repeatedly misled users about how the platform handled personal information. Facebook had promised users control over their data, but the promise was false, the judge said in his ruling on Wednesday.

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez said the judgment sent an unmistakable warning to major technology companies that they would be held accountable for their practices. The state plans to direct the money towards education, although the funds could remain tied up during Meta’s appeal.

The case centred on allegations that Facebook failed to protect users’ personal information after a third-party personality quiz harvested data linked to around 87 million profiles. The information was shared with political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica, which used it to develop targeted political advertisements ahead of the 2016 US presidential election.

In September, a jury found Meta liable for more than 43 million violations of New Mexico’s consumer protection laws. Prosecutors had sought between $35 billion and $40 billion, arguing that only a substantial penalty would force the company to change its practices. Meta’s lawyers had argued for a maximum payment of $3.4 billion, calling a much larger award unconstitutional and excessive.

Meta has said it will appeal the verdict, challenging both the evidence and the way the state calculated the number of violations. The final penalty could be reduced during the appeals process.

The case follows an $18 billion settlement reached in August between Meta and nearly all other US states and territories, excluding New Mexico and Florida. That agreement also included stronger child-safety measures for Facebook and Instagram and addressed allegations concerning social media addiction among teenagers.

The New Mexico case also examined concerns about harmful content and content moderation, though jurors did not find sufficient proof for certain allegations involving the removal of misinformation and other harmful material.

The penalty far exceeds the $5 billion fine imposed on Facebook by the US Federal Trade Commission in 2019 over privacy violations, underscoring the growing legal scrutiny facing technology companies over the handling of users’ personal data.