Meta Fined $25 Billion for 43 Million Privacy Violations Stemming from Cambridge Analytica Scandal
A New Mexico court has ordered Meta to pay $25 billion in penalties for 43 million privacy violations related to the Cambridge Analytica data scandal.
Social media giant Meta has been ordered to pay a staggering $25 billion in penalties by a New Mexico court, stemming from a data privacy lawsuit rooted in the infamous Cambridge Analytica scandal that first surfaced in 2018. State District Court Judge Francis J. Mathew found Meta and its platform Facebook to have made misleading statements regarding consumer data privacy within the state.
In his ruling, Judge Mathew stated, "Facebook promised users that they (the users) controlled their data. This was false." The substantial penalty is a consequence of over 43 million violations of New Mexico's Unfair Practices Act. The lawsuit, initiated in 2021, gained traction following revelations that the British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica had illicitly acquired data from millions of Facebook users without their explicit consent to construct psychographic profiles.
The data in question was harvested through a personality quiz application known as "thisisyourdigitallife." While approximately 300,000 users directly participated in the psychological test, it was later discovered that the app also collected data from their friends, ultimately amassing a dataset encompassing 87 million user profiles. Meta took action against the app in 2015, banning it for violating platform policies and issuing a legal demand for the data's deletion.
Cambridge Analytica subsequently announced its immediate cessation of operations in May 2018, following the widespread exposure of the data scandal. The firm had been notably involved in Donald Trump's presidential campaign during the 2016 election cycle. This latest penalty adds to a series of significant financial repercussions Meta has faced over its data handling practices.
In December 2022, Meta reached a $725 million settlement to resolve a class-action lawsuit alleging improper sharing of user information with Cambridge Analytica. Prior to that, in 2019, the company was fined $5 billion by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for compromising users' privacy controls on Facebook.
Furthermore, in August of the same year, Meta agreed to a settlement with nearly all U.S. states and territories, excluding New Mexico and Florida. This agreement involved a payment of $18 billion over the next decade and mandated the implementation of enhanced child-safety measures across Facebook and Instagram. This broader settlement also included $459 million allocated to claims specifically related to the Cambridge Analytica matter.
Meta's chief legal officer, C.J. Mahoney, has publicly criticized the New Mexico court's decision, indicating that the company fully intends to appeal the ruling. The substantial fine underscores the ongoing scrutiny and legal challenges Meta faces concerning its data privacy practices and the long-term implications of past data misuse incidents.
The New Mexico jury's finding of 43.9 million violations of state law has resulted in a $25 billion civil penalty against Meta. While the lawsuit was filed in 2021 and stemmed from revelations similar to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, this specific penalty was levied by a New Mexico judge following the jury's determination that Facebook misled consumers about its data privacy practices and handling of hate speech. Meta has stated its intention to appeal the ruling, disputing the findings and characterizing the lawsuit as an attempt to impose a 'tax on speech'.