On October 22, Beijing time, according to The New York Times, a judge in New Mexico ruled on Wednesday that Meta must pay a fine of $25 billion for misleading users on data privacy issues. This is one of the largest fines faced by tech giants. Meta stated that they will file an appeal.

This lawsuit was filed by the state of New Mexico in 2021, involving the scandal of Cambridge Analytica obtaining Facebook user data. The state accuses Meta of misleading users and violating state consumer protection laws through public statements regarding data privacy.

In September of this year, after a two-week trial, a jury in the Santa Fe District Court found Meta guilty of 43 million illegal acts, with a maximum fine of $5000 for each violation. On Wednesday, Judge Francis Matthews made a penalty decision of $25 billion.

In a 20 page judgment, the judge stated that the harm caused by this case is incalculable and involves the core of Facebook's basic business model. He believes that a large number of intentional illegal acts that have lasted for many years support the highest level of punishment.

During the trial, lawyers in New Mexico compared the public statements of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and then COO Cheryl Sandberg regarding user privacy with their personal emails to prove that company executives misled users. Zuckerberg did not testify in court, but the jury watched about an hour and a half of his pre-trial evidence recording.

The jury ultimately found that 26 out of 29 statements made by Meta and its executives were unfair or deceptive.

Meta lawyers argue that users can choose which data to share on the platform, and the company's policy regarding third-party access to Facebook data has undergone significant changes since 2018.

For the latest verdict, Meta Chief Legal Officer CMahoni stated that this lawsuit essentially attempts to impose new rules on online expression by "taxing" speech. He stated that the company is confident in winning the appeal.

The New Mexico state stated that the proceeds from this penalty will be used for public education funds. The state's Attorney General, Ra ú l Torres, stated that this result shows that no business can be strong enough not to take responsibility.

The source of the case can be traced back to 2018. At that time, media outlets such as The New York Times revealed that Cambridge Analytica, a British political consulting firm, had obtained private data of tens of millions of Facebook users without their knowledge to build profiles of American voters. The incident sparked widespread questioning from the outside world about Facebook's data collection and privacy protection practices, and Zuckerberg subsequently testified before the US Congress.

According to reports, Meta reached another settlement with 47 states, the District of Columbia, and US territories in August this year, agreeing to pay up to $17.1 billion and make significant adjustments to its products in response to allegations of endangering children on its social media platforms. Among them, $459 million will be used to resolve similar privacy claims related to Cambridge Analytica. Therefore, most states are expected to be unable to file the same lawsuit as New Mexico over the same privacy issue. (Author/Yu Lei)

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(Author Phoenix Network)