Eight years ago, the world was rocked by the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which involved the use of Facebook user data for targeted political campaigning. This breach of user privacy led to Facebook being fined $5 billion by the FTC.
Many might have thought this issue was a thing of the past, but not in New Mexico. In 2021, New Mexico sued Meta, alleging that the company misled users regarding their data privacy. A jury has found Meta liable, and the company is now required to pay $25 billion (~RM 102 billion) to New Mexico.
Judge Francis Mathew noted that the penalties permitted under state law could have actually exceeded $219 billion (~RM 894 billion)—given that the case involved the personal data of 43 million New Mexico residents—but he reduced the amount to $25 billion. Meta has stated that it intends to appeal the court's decision.
This marks yet another instance this year in which Meta has been ordered to pay a fine. Last March, Meta was also ordered by a court in New Mexico to pay a $375 million penalty for misleading users regarding child safety on its Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp platforms.
