Meta ordered to pay $25 billion in case related to Cambridge Analytica scandal

The tail of the Cambridge Analytica data scandal is long — and it keeps costing Meta gargantuan sums of money.

On Wednesday, a judge ordered the social media giant to initiate its biggest payout yet: $25 billion to the state of New Mexico for the tech giant’s role in deceiving resident users over its data privacy practices, The New York Times reports.

The huge sum follows a two-week trial in which a New Mexico jury deliberated over the company’s alleged wrongdoing. The jury found that the company behind Facebook and Instagram had committed 43 million violations of the state’s consumer protection laws, each of which carried a $5,000 penalty, the outlet notes.

Part of the case revolved around the company’s handling of a third-party app linked to the Cambridge Analytica data breach, The Wall Street Journal reports. Other parts involved its data privacy policies and its efforts to mitigate misinformation on its platform.

Cambridge Analytica was an outgrowth of a British defense contractor, SLC Group, that specialized in influence operations and other political work. The company notably worked with the Trump campaign during the 2016 presidential election. It was also involved in a number of controversial initiatives.

“We may have paid for the construction of schools for the next 100 years,” New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez told journalists at a press conference, commenting on the case’s resolution.

Meta has said that it will appeal the decision.

“This ruling, and the Attorney General’s approach to this enforcement, makes it all but impossible to do business in the state of New Mexico,” said C.J. Mahoney, Meta’s Chief Legal Officer, in a statement shared with TechCrunch via email. “At its core, this lawsuit seeks to impose a tax on speech to enforce new rules for what people can say online. We are confident we will prevail on appeal. In the meantime, Meta will continue to build a safe and free platform to connect millions of Americans, grow small businesses, and help the country maintain its competitive edge,” he added.

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