"Cabra" 25 billion dollars to Meta for user deception - The Cambridge Analytica scandal is at the center.

The judge in New Mexico ordered Meta Platforms to pay a fine of 25 billion dollars, following a jury verdict that found the company deceived consumers about the protection of their personal data. The case relates to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, the British political consulting firm that was at the center of Donald Trump's 2016 pre-election campaign, having collected data from millions of Facebook users without consent. In his reasoning, Judge Francis Mathieu emphasized that Meta's violations over several years were "at the core of its basic business practices." As he stated, state legislation allowed for the imposition of a fine of up to 219 billion dollars, but he decided to limit the amount to 25 billion dollars. Meta's representative did not immediately respond to the request for comment on the decision. How the case began The Attorney General of New Mexico filed a lawsuit against Meta in 2021, following revelations that Cambridge Analytica had gained access to the personal data of up to 87 million Facebook users through a third-party application. According to the indictment, Meta misled users about who could access their data, as well as how it handled hate speech and misleading content on its platforms. The State also argued that the company knew that third parties had broad access to users' personal information and that it allowed harmful content when it served its financial interests. On September 25th, the jurors found that 26 of the company's and its management's 29 statements on these issues were misleading. They also concluded that Meta had committed more than 43 million violations of New Mexico consumer protection laws. The dispute over the amount of the fine Following the verdict, the State's Attorney General, Raul Torres, stated that the law provides for a fine of up to $5,000 for each violation and that the money would go to New Mexico's education system. For the State, attorney Randy McKenzie requested a fine of $35 to $40 billion. "This court must speak to Meta in the only language it understands, which is money and the value of its stock," he stated. Meta, on the other hand, argued that a fine greater than $3.45 billion could lead businesses to leave the State. The company also insisted that it did not sell user data and did not mislead consumers. A second court defeat in six months The decision is the second court defeat for Meta in New Mexico within a six-month period. Last March, a different jury found that the company misled users about the safety of minors on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp platforms, initially imposing a fine of $375 million. Subsequently, the judge ordered Meta to pay $567 million to the State treasury for the mental health of adolescents and to take additional measures to protect minors who use the services.