New Mexico court orders Meta to pay $25 billion over Facebook user data
In short
A New Mexico state court on 21 October ordered Meta Platforms to pay $25 billion (about 3.9 trillion yen) in a case over Facebook user data. A jury had found Meta violated the state's consumer protection law, and Meta said it will appeal.
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A state district court in New Mexico on 21 October ordered Meta Platforms to pay $25 billion, Reuters reported. Sankei, citing Kyodo, said the amount is to be paid to the state and is about 3.9 trillion yen, and described the penalty as being for violating the state's consumer protection law. The case concerned the handling of Facebook users' personal information. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]
Sankei reported that a state court jury found in September that Meta had violated the consumer protection law. The jury found that Meta's statements, including that users have the right to decide how their personal information is handled and that Facebook does not sell personal information to advertisers, were false or misleading. Reuters described the finding as one that Meta deceived users. [ 2 , 3 ]
According to Reuters, Judge Francis Matthew (フランシス・マシュー) said in the order following the verdict that the matter concerned the core business practices of Facebook. The judge considered a penalty of more than $219 billion appropriate under state law but reduced it to $25 billion. New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torres (ラウル・トレス) said it was among the largest judgments a single state has won against a company in US history. [ 2 ]
Meta has said it would appeal. Chief Legal Officer C.J. Mahoney (C・J・マホニー) said in a statement that the company was confident of winning on appeal. He said the ruling and the attorney general's approach to enforcement would make it effectively impossible to do business in New Mexico, and that the suit was in essence an attempt to tax speech by imposing new rules on what people can say online. Reuters noted that Meta had argued earlier that multibillion-dollar penalties could violate constitutional protections against denial of due process and excessive fines. [ 2 , 3 ]
The case traces to the disclosure that the British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica collected personal data of up to 87 million Facebook users through third-party apps. Reuters described the firm as having been involved in Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, and said the data was allegedly obtained without users' consent. New Mexico's attorney general sued Meta in 2021. Reuters said the new penalty is the largest imposed on Meta over the Cambridge Analytica matter; in 2019 the US Federal Trade Commission fined the company $5 billion over the same issue. Sankei, citing US media, said the amount is among the largest imposed on an IT company. [ 2 , 3 ]
Why it matters
Sankei, citing US media, described the amount as among the largest penalties imposed on an IT company. Meta says the ruling would make it effectively impossible to operate in New Mexico, and the appeal is yet to come.
Key facts
- A New Mexico state district court on 21 October ordered Meta Platforms to pay $25 billion. [ 2 , 3 ]
- Nishi-Nippon, Sankei and NHK put the penalty at about 3.9 trillion yen; Yahoo! News Japan's headline for the Reuters report said about 4 trillion yen. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- A state court jury in September found Meta violated the state consumer protection law over the handling of Facebook users' personal information. [ 3 ]
- Judge Francis Matthew (フランシス・マシュー) found that over $219 billion would be appropriate under state law but reduced the penalty to $25 billion. [ 2 ]
- Meta's chief legal officer said the company is confident of winning on appeal. [ 2 ]
- New Mexico's attorney general sued Meta in 2021 after Cambridge Analytica collected Facebook users' data. [ 2 , 3 ]
- Reuters reported this is the largest penalty imposed on Meta over the Cambridge Analytica matter; the US Federal Trade Commission fined Meta $5 billion over the same matter in 2019. [ 2 ]
Confirmed by several sources
Still unclear
- Whether the penalty will be upheld on appeal. Meta says it will appeal and is confident of winning; no document reports an appeal outcome.
- The ranking of the penalty against other penalties. Sankei cites US media for it being among the largest on an IT company; the New Mexico attorney general called it among the largest judgments a single state has won against a company, per Reuters. Neither claim is independently verified in the documents.
- Meta has said it will appeal. Reported by a single source so far
- The case stems from Cambridge Analytica's acquisition of Facebook users' personal data, and New Mexico sued Meta in 2021. Reported by a single source so far