New Mexico seeks $40B penalty against Meta over privacy violations
What's the story
New Mexico has demanded that a judge impose penalties of between $35 billion and $40 billion on Meta Platforms. The demand comes after a jury found the social media giant had misled consumers about the privacy of their data on Facebook. The case stems from the Cambridge Analytica scandal, where British political consulting firm harvested personal information from as many as 87 million Facebook users without consent.
Trial outcome
Judge to decide on financial penalties
The jury delivered its verdict on September 25, with Judge Francis Mathew presiding over the trial in Santa Fe.
He will now decide how much Meta has to pay as financial penalties.
The hearing saw attorneys from both sides debating the appropriate amount of punishment, with Meta arguing that New Mexico's proposed penalties don't correspond to the conduct focused on during the trial.
Lawsuit details
Lawsuit accused Meta of lying to users
The 2021 lawsuit accused Meta of lying to Facebook users in New Mexico about who had access to their data, how it handled hate speech and misinformation on the platform, among other things.
The state claimed that the company was aware third parties had wide access to personal user data and tolerated harmful content when it benefited its bottom line.
Violation count
Jury found Meta committed over 43 million violations
The jury examined 29 statements made by Meta and its leadership on these issues and found 26 of them misleading.
They determined that the company had committed over 43 million violations of New Mexico's consumer protection laws, based on the number of Facebook users or New Mexico residents who were the audience for each misleading statement.
Legal arguments
Proposed penalties aimed at impacting Meta
At the hearing, Randi McGinn, an attorney for New Mexico, argued that a significant payment should be ordered to impact Meta.
She proposed $35 billion to $40 billion in penalties, about 20% of what could be imposed under state law from the verdict.
This would affect Meta's stock price while respecting its right to due process under the Constitution.
Defense response
Evidence shows Meta doesn't sell user data
Matt Nicholson, an attorney for Meta, called New Mexico's request an "astronomical penalty that would obviously violate a host of constitutional provisions."
In court filings, the company asked Judge Mathew to limit the penalties to $3.45 billion.
Despite the jury's finding of misleading statements by Meta, evidence shows that the company doesn't sell user data and New Mexico didn't prove any consumer was actually misled.