Meta to pay $25bn to New Mexico after misleading users on privacy
A New Mexico judge cut a calculated penalty of more than $219 billion to $25 billion after a jury found Meta misled users about how it handled their Facebook data.
A judge in New Mexico ordered Meta Platforms to pay $25 billion after a jury found it misled consumers about data privacy.
The judge had calculated a penalty above $219 billion under state law and reduced it to $25 billion.
Jurors found 26 of 29 statements by the company and its leadership on these issues were misleading.
State law allows up to $5,000 per violation, and the state says all money must go to New Mexico's school system.
Meta told the court a penalty above $3.45 billion could scare businesses away, and an analyst expects an appeal.