New Mexico court orders Meta to pay $25 billion
Meta has been ordered by a New Mexico court to pay $25 billion for misleading people about how it handled their data during the Cambridge Analytica mess.
A jury in a Santa Fe courthouse found in September the social media giant liable for hiding what it was really doing with users' information and how it safeguarded and collected user data and prevented harmful information from flourishing on its services.
The original award was even higher, $219.5 billion, but the judge brought it down.
Meta suit tied to Cambridge Analytica
This lawsuit started back in 2021, led by former state Attorney General Hector Balderas and now overseen by Attorney General Raul Torrez.
Unlike Meta's previous national settlements, this trial focused on issues specific to New Mexico, like deceptive practices under state law.
It all ties back to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, when a political firm grabbed data from 87 million users without permission, putting Meta's privacy promises under the microscope yet again.