Meta hit with $25bn penalty over Cambridge Analytica data scandal

Meta has been ordered to pay $25 billion in penalties by a New Mexico court in a data privacy case stemming from the Cambridge Analytica scandal, CNBC reports.

The penalty, revealed in a court filing on Wednesday, follows a September jury finding that Meta misled state residents about how it safeguards and collects user data. The jury found more than 43 million violations of the state’s unfair practices act, each carrying a civil penalty of up to $5,000. The state was awarded $219.5 billion, but the penalty was reduced to $25 billion.

Judge Francis Mathew said the “extraordinary number of willful violations,” their duration and the involvement of senior Facebook leadership supported the highest penalty allowed. He said “Facebook did not conduct the comprehensive investigation that it promised” after the Cambridge Analytica revelations, calling its internal examination “willfully ineffective.” Interest will accrue at 15% a year until the fine is paid.

Attorney General Raúl Torrez said: “For too long, powerful technology companies have operated as though their size and influence put them beyond the reach of the law.” He added that “this penalty order demonstrates that those violations carry real consequences.”

The scandal, which began in 2018, centred on claims that Cambridge Analytica improperly accessed the data of 87 million users. Meta paid $725 million in 2022 to settle a related class action. New Mexico was not part of an August settlement of nearly $17 billion with other state attorneys general, so its case went to trial.

CNBC said it has asked Meta for comment.