New Mexico Seeks Up to $40 Billion in Meta Penalties
A jury verdict over the Cambridge Analytica scandal puts Meta's cash reserves in the crosshairs of state regulators.
New Mexico authorities are asking a judge to order Meta to pay between $35 billion and $40 billion in penalties following a jury verdict in a lawsuit regarding the Cambridge Analytica scandal, Engadget reports.
The lawsuit, filed in 2021, alleged that Meta misled users regarding its data privacy practices. The case centers on the harvesting of data from more than 50 million Facebook profiles by the British political data firm Cambridge Analytica for political advertising campaigns without consent.
According to Engadget, a jury ruled in late September that Meta violated New Mexico's Unfair Practices Act and misled residents about privacy and the handling of misinformation. Jurors identified 26 of 29 company statements as misleading, resulting in a finding of 43 million violations of state consumer protection laws. While the jury's verdict allows the state to request up to $219 billion, New Mexico Attorney Randi McGinn is seeking the lower range of $35 billion to $40 billion. McGinn stated the court should address Meta in the language of money and stock price to ensure the penalties have a meaningful impact on the company.
Meta is contesting the amount, asking the court to cap penalties at $3.45 billion. The company argues that New Mexico failed to prove that any residents were actually misled by the statements in question. A judge is expected to issue a decision later this month.