Key facts
- Meta fined $25 billion for misleading the public about user data.
- Judge Francis Mathew reduced a potential $219 billion penalty.
- The judge cited communications from senior executives, including Mark Zuckerberg.
Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, has been ordered to pay a $25 billion fine by a federal judge in New Mexico. The penalty follows a two-week trial earlier this year where Meta was found to have intentionally misled the public for years regarding its handling and control of Facebook user data. Judge Francis Mathew stated that the company's "lies extend beyond Facebook's data practices as well" and go "to the heart of its core business practices." While the judge calculated a potential penalty of $219 billion based on thousands of state law violations, he reduced it to $25 billion. Communications from senior executives, including Mark Zuckerberg, were cited as evidence of intent to mislead.