Meta ordered to pay $25 billion over data privacy violations. Meta probably expected all the headlines to be about its earnings report, but hours before its release, it got slapped with an attention-grabbing legal penalty. A New Mexico Judge ordered the company to pay $25 billion in a data privacy case stemming from a scandal involving the political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica obtaining Facebook users’ data in 2018. Last month, a jury found that Meta had violated the state’s consumer protection laws 43 million times—with each violation carrying a $5,000 penalty, so the $25 billion the judge imposed was actually a reduction. The social media giant previously resolved other cases related to the scandal, and has recently faced additional legal challenges over the safety of children on its platforms.—AR
