Meta Ordered To Pay $25B

What happened

A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay the state $25 billion in civil penalties after a jury found the company liable under the state’s consumer-protection law. The case grew out of Cambridge Analytica, a political consulting firm that obtained Facebook users’ personal data without consent for political profiling. New Mexico sued in 2021, saying Meta misled users about data access and platform policies. Meta said the state failed to prove misleading privacy statements and tried to tax speech. Attorney General Raúl Torrez said the judgment showed powerful tech companies can be held accountable. Meta’s chief legal officer said the company expects to win on appeal. Interest can accrue while the penalty remains unpaid.

How each side covered it

From the left

Left-leaning outlets framed the penalty as a landmark warning to powerful technology companies, with accountability as the central theme. HuffPost emphasized Attorney General Raúl Torrez’s view that the verdict should warn tech companies. The Boston Globe highlighted Judge Francis J. Mathew’s finding that Meta’s conduct was intentional and tied to core practices. MS NOW stressed political exploitation of users’ data by a firm tied to Trump’s campaign and backers.

From the right

Right-leaning outlets led with the ruling as a huge financial hit and another legal setback for Meta. The New York Post emphasized the size of the blow while citing Judge Francis Mathew’s view that the misconduct was systematic and went to core business practices.

Headlines

Meta Ordered To Pay $25B

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What happened

How each side covered it

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From the right

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