The story of the Cambridge Analytica data scandal is a long one – and it continues to cost Meta gargantuan sums of money.
A judge on Wednesday ordered the social media giant to make the largest payment ever: $25 billion to the state of New Mexico for the tech giant’s role in misleading resident users about its data privacy practices, the New York Times reports.
The huge sum follows a two-week trial in which a New Mexico jury deliberated on the company’s alleged wrongdoing. The jury found that the company behind Facebook and Instagram committed 43 million violations of state consumer protection laws, each of which carries a $5,000 fine, the outlet notes.
Part of the case revolved around the company’s handling of a third-party application linked to the Cambridge Analytica data breach, the Wall Street Journal reports. Other parts concerned its data privacy policies and its efforts to mitigate misinformation on its platform.
Cambridge Analytica is an offshoot of a British defense contractor, SLC Group, which specializes in influence operations and other political work. The company notably collaborated with the Trump campaign during the 2016 presidential election. It also participated in a number of controversial initiatives.
“We may have funded school construction for the next 100 years,” New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez told reporters at a news conference, commenting on the resolution of the case.
Meta said she would appeal the decision.
“This decision and the Attorney General’s approach to enforcement makes it virtually impossible to do business in the state of New Mexico,” said CJ Mahoney, Meta’s legal director, in a statement shared with TechCrunch via email. “At its core, this lawsuit seeks to impose a tax on speech to enforce new rules on what people can say online. We are confident that we will prevail on appeal. In the meantime, Meta will continue to build a safe, free platform to connect millions of Americans, grow small businesses, and help the country maintain its competitive advantage,” he added.
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