Meta has been ordered to pay $25 billion (£18.5 billion) to New Mexico after a jury found that Facebook had misled consumers for years about how their personal data was handled.
Judge Francis Mathew imposed the penalty after the jury concluded that the company made false or misleading statements about users’ control over their information and whether it was shared with advertisers.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez described the award as “one of the largest, if not the single largest state verdict against a company in American history”.
“This judgment should be a signal, an unambiguous message, to Silicon Valley,” Mr Torrez said at a news conference.
The judge said Meta’s most senior leaders, including chief executive Mark Zuckerberg and former chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg, had made misrepresentations about Facebook’s privacy policies.
“These communications were part of a coherent strategy designed to mislead the public,” Judge Mathew wrote.
The case centred on allegations arising from a personality quiz that harvested data from about 87 million Facebook profiles. The information was sold to political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica for targeted advertising, according to the case.
Mr Torrez said the proceedings had been about more than one company or one scandal, arguing that corporations should not be able to mislead consumers about the use of their personal information without facing meaningful consequences.
Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
How the Meta penalty could be used
Under New Mexico’s constitution, fines imposed for breaches of consumer protection laws are directed towards state education spending.
“We may have paid for the construction of schools for the next 100 years,” Mr Torrez said, while acknowledging that the money would remain tied up if Meta appeals, as expected.
Forty-eight other states settled with Facebook in a nationwide case, but New Mexico pursued its own action against the social media company.
Lawyers for New Mexico had sought between $35 billion and $40 billion, arguing that only a penalty large enough to affect Meta’s share price would force the company to change its practices.
Meta shares rose by $13.56, or 2 per cent, to $707.81 in Wednesday afternoon trading.
