In brief
A federal judge in New Mexico ordered Meta to pay $25bn following a two‑week trial that found the company had deliberately misled the public about how it handled Facebook user data. The penalty is the biggest yet issued against Meta, which has already faced several high‑value fines and settlements. The judge flagged that communication among top executives, including Mark Zuckerberg, was specifically designed to deceive users. Meta’s spokesperson did not immediately comment on the ruling.
Meta Faces $25bn Fine Over Alleged Data Privacy Lies
A federal judge in New Mexico on Wednesday ordered Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, to pay $25bn (£18.6bn) following a two‑week trial that found the company had deliberately misled the public about its handling of Facebook user data.
The judge wrote that the lies "extend beyond Facebook's data practices as well," and that the deception "went to the heart of its core business practices." The verdict represents the largest penalty imposed on Meta to date, adding to a string of fines and settlements the company faced this year.
In earlier filings Meta had agreed to an $18bn deal with California over data‑protection violations. The court also noted that senior executives—among them Mark Zuckerberg—had sent communications that were "designed to mislead the public," according to Judge Francis Mathew.
Although the total penalty based on thousands of state‑law violations was calculated at $219bn, the judge reduced it to the $25bn fine imposed on the company.
A Meta spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
