New Mexico court orders Meta to pay $25 billion over privacy and content moderation claims
In short
A New Mexico court has ordered Meta Platforms to pay a $25 billion civil penalty after a jury found it violated the state's consumer protection law more than 43 million times. The case concerned statements on user privacy, data handling and hate speech moderation after the Cambridge Analytica data leak. Meta said it will appeal.
Read the full story 2 min read
A New Mexico court has ordered Meta Platforms to pay a $25 billion civil penalty, CLS reported on 22 October. According to CLS, a jury found that Meta violated the state's consumer protection law more than 43 million times through misleading statements on user privacy, data handling and hate speech moderation. [ 1 , 5 ]
IT Home, citing the New York Times, reported that a judge issued the order on Wednesday local time and that it is the largest payout in the company's history. The penalty followed a two-week trial in which a New Mexico jury considered the alleged violations. IT Home said the jury found the parent company of Facebook and Instagram committed 43 million violations, with a penalty of $5,000 for each. IT Home put the $25 billion at about 167.28 billion yuan at the current exchange rate. [ 3 ]
CLS said the New Mexico attorney general accused Meta of making false statements about protecting user data after the Cambridge Analytica leak, and of misleading the public on content moderation and hate speech policies. IT Home, citing the Wall Street Journal, said part of the dispute concerned how Meta handled a third-party app linked to the Cambridge Analytica leak, with other points including its data privacy policy and the platform's work against misinformation. CLS described the amount as one of the highest fine judgments in US judicial history. [ 1 , 3 ]
Attorney General Raúl Torrez told reporters at a news conference after the verdict: "This money is enough for us to keep funding school construction for the next hundred years." Meta chief legal officer C.J. Mahoney said in a statement that the judgment and the attorney general's approach "almost make it impossible for companies to do business in New Mexico" and that the suit was "essentially" an attempt to set new rules for online speech by taxing speech. He said Meta is confident of prevailing on appeal and will keep building a safe and free platform. [ 3 ]
IT Home also gave background on Cambridge Analytica, saying it grew out of the British defence contractor SLC Group, which specialised in influence operations and other political work. It said the firm was best known for working with Trump's campaign team during the 2016 presidential election. [ 3 ]
Why it matters
CLS described the amount as one of the highest fine judgments in US judicial history, and IT Home, citing the New York Times, called it the largest payout in Meta's history. Meta said the ruling makes it nearly impossible to do business in New Mexico and that it expects to win on appeal.
Key facts
- A New Mexico court ordered Meta Platforms to pay a $25 billion civil penalty. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]
- A jury found Meta violated the state's consumer protection law more than 43 million times. [ 1 , 3 , 5 ]
- IT Home, citing the New York Times, reported that the penalty per violation was $5,000 and that the trial lasted two weeks. [ 3 ]
- The New Mexico attorney general alleged Meta made false statements about user data protection after the Cambridge Analytica leak and misled the public on content moderation and hate speech policies. [ 1 , 5 ]
- Meta's chief legal officer C.J. Mahoney said the company is confident of winning on appeal. [ 3 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- A New Mexico court ordered Meta to pay $25 billion. [ 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]
- A jury found Meta violated the New Mexico consumer protection law more than 43 million times. [ 1 , 3 , 5 ]
- The case relates to the Cambridge Analytica data leak and Meta's statements on user privacy and data handling. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 5 ]
Still unclear
- How the 43 million violations and $5,000 per violation relate to the $25 billion total. IT Home gives both the per-violation figure and the total, and no document explains how they connect.
- Whether the content-related claims concerned hate speech or misinformation. CLS and 36Kr refer to hate speech moderation, while IT Home, citing the Wall Street Journal, refers to the platform's efforts against misinformation.
- Who issued the order. CLS says a court ordered the payment, while IT Home, citing the New York Times, says a judge ordered it.
- The outcome of Meta's appeal. Meta said it expects to win on appeal, but no document reports an appeal filing or ruling.
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- CLS published its report on the penalty. [ 1 ]
- cnBeta published a headline on the New Mexico Cambridge Analytica case. [ 2 ]
- IT Home published its report, citing the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. [ 3 ]
- Yicai published a headline on the penalty. [ 4 ]
- 36Kr published CLS's summary. [ 5 ]