The $25bn New Mexico ruling is Meta’s largest fine to date
In his order, Judge Francis Mathew wrote that communications between senior executives, including Mark Zuckerberg, were “designed to mislead the public.” The federal judge in New Mexico issued the Wednesday order after a two-week trial earlier in the year found that Meta had intentionally lied to the public for years about how it handled and controlled Facebook user data.
Mathew said the deception extended beyond Facebook’s data practices to what he described as “the heart of its core business practices.” Meta is the company behind Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
The penalty rested on thousands of violations of state law. Mathew calculated the full amount at $219bn before reducing it to the $25bn (£18.6bn) fine.
BBC News described the $25bn fine as the largest to date against Meta. The outlet said Meta had been hit with numerous legal fines this year and has either been fined or agreed to settle several other lawsuits this year, including an $18bn deal with California.
A spokesperson for Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.