A New Mexico judge has ruled that Meta Platforms must pay $25 billion US (equivalent to about $35 billion Cdn) following a trial where it was determined that the company had deceived consumers. The case stemmed from allegations that a political consulting firm linked to Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign accessed data from millions of Facebook users without their approval.
Judge Francis Mathew, in his ruling, emphasized that Facebook’s deceptive actions, which were ongoing and widely known, struck at the core of the company’s business practices. Originally, the state law allowed for a penalty exceeding $219 billion US, but Mathew reduced it to $25 billion US.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, did not immediately provide a comment in response to the ruling.
The legal action against Meta was initiated by the state attorney general in 2021 following revelations about Cambridge Analytica, a British consulting firm, gathering personal data from up to 87 million Facebook users through a third-party application. The state accused Meta of dishonesty towards New Mexico users concerning data access, management of hate speech and misinformation on the platform, and other internal protocols. It was alleged that Meta was aware of third parties having extensive access to user data and tolerated harmful content for financial gain.
During the trial, jurors determined that 26 out of 29 statements made by Meta and its leadership on these matters were misleading. They concluded that the company had committed over 43 million violations of New Mexico’s consumer protection laws. Under state law, penalties can reach up to $5,000 US ($7,024 Cdn) per violation, with the funds directed to the state’s education system.
In a subsequent hearing, a lawyer representing New Mexico requested a penalty ranging between $35 billion and $40 billion US ($49 billion to $56 billion Cdn) based on constitutional protections and the jury’s findings. Meta argued for a penalty cap of $3.45 billion US, expressing concerns about potential negative impacts on business operations in the state.
This verdict marks the second legal victory within six months for New Mexico against Meta Platforms. In a prior trial, Meta was found to have misled users about safety issues on its Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp platforms, resulting in civil penalties amounting to $375 million US ($526 million Cdn). Following further proceedings, Meta was directed to pay $567 million US ($796 million Cdn) towards a New Mexico fund for teenage mental health and to implement safeguards for teen users in the state.