Meta fined $25bn for 'lies' over user data privacy
The fine is the largest to date against Facebook's owner, larger than an $18bn deal with California.
Meta fined $25bn for 'lies' over user data privacy
The company behind Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp has been hit with another huge fine over its business practices.
A federal judge in New Mexico on Wednesday ordered Meta to pay $25bn (£18.6bn) after a two-week trial earlier this year found that, for years, it had deliberately misled the public about how it handled and controlled Facebook user data.
"The lies extend beyond Facebook's data practices as well," the judge said, adding that it went to "the heart of its core business practices."
The fine is the largest so far against Meta, which has either been fined or agreed to settle several other lawsuits this year, including an $18bn deal with California.
Communications between senior executives, including Mark Zuckerberg, were "designed to mislead the public," Judge Francis Mathew wrote in his order.
Although the full penalty against Meta, based on thousands of violations of state law, was calculated at $219bn, Judge Mathew cut it down to the $25bn fine.