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A New Mexico jury found Facebook, owned by Meta, liable for nearly 44 million violations of the state’s consumer-protection law over deceptive statements about data privacy during and after the Cambridge Analytica data-harvesting scandal. The verdict concluded that Facebook misled users about their control over data sharing, the sale or use of private data, and its investigation of third-party applications that harvested user information.
The court will consider monetary penalties at an October 1 hearing. New Mexico is seeking up to $5,000 per violation—creating potential exposure exceeding $200 billion—as well as an injunction requiring changes to Facebook’s future privacy practices. The jury rejected claims tied to Facebook’s assertions about removing harmful content, although reporting also described findings involving claims about enforcement of community standards, hate speech, and misinformation.
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A New Mexico jury found Facebook, owned by Meta, liable for more than 43 million violations of the state's consumer-protection law after finding it deceived users about data privacy and its investigation of third-party developers following the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The state is seeking civil penalties and an injunction requiring changes to Facebook's future data-privacy practices.
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Meta agreed to settle claims brought by 29 U.S. states alleging that Facebook and Instagram were deliberately designed to addict children and teenagers, misrepresented their safety, and collected children’s data without required parental consent. The company denied the allegations while agreeing to pay at least **$12.1 billion** over 10 years, with total payments potentially reaching approximately **$17.1 billion** if other major social-media companies adopt comparable child-safety measures. The settlement requires Meta to introduce stronger protections for young users, including age verification, expanded parental controls, daily usage limits, nighttime access restrictions, and muted notifications during school hours. The states alleged Meta prioritized user growth and advertising revenue despite evidence of harms to minors; District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb described the agreement as a significant public-health victory.
Aug 31, 2026
A Los Angeles jury found **Meta** and **YouTube** liable in a landmark lawsuit brought by a 20-year-old woman identified as `K.G.M.`, ruling that social media platforms can be addictive and that their design contributed to mental health harm she says began while using the services as a minor. Jurors awarded **$3 million** in damages, assigning **70%** of the payment to Meta and **30%** to YouTube, after concluding the companies were negligent; deliberations on punitive damages were still continuing. The case focused on features such as infinite scroll and exposure that allegedly fueled depression and suicidal thoughts, and the verdict is expected to bolster thousands of similar claims against Meta, YouTube, TikTok, and Snap. A separate New Mexico case also recently ordered Meta to pay **$375 million** over alleged failures tied to child safety and sexual exploitation risks on its platforms. In Australia, pressure on major platforms intensified as the country’s online safety regulator opened investigations into possible violations of the national ban on social media use by children under 16. eSafety Commissioner **Julie Inman Grant** said some companies may not be doing enough to comply with the law despite initial measures, naming **Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube** as platforms of concern. Together, the court ruling in the United States and the Australian probe underscore growing legal and regulatory action against social media companies over platform design, child safety, and protections for minors.
Jun 29, 2026
A new class-action lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California alleges **Meta** misled WhatsApp users by marketing “unbreakable” end-to-end encryption while allegedly retaining and analyzing message content and enabling employee access via internal tools. The complaint—brought by plaintiffs from multiple countries and seeking global class certification—cites unnamed whistleblowers but reportedly provides no technical proof (e.g., logs or code) to substantiate claims that Meta can decrypt or read message contents; Meta spokesperson Andy Stone denied the allegations as “categorically false,” reiterating WhatsApp’s use of the **Signal Protocol** for end-to-end encryption. Separately, **Google** agreed to pay **$68 million** to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging **Google Assistant** unlawfully recorded users’ private conversations when inadvertently triggered (e.g., via “Hey Google” misfires) and shared recordings with third parties for advertising-related purposes. The preliminary settlement, also filed in Northern California federal court, still requires judicial approval and applies to purchasers of Google devices dating back to May 2016; Google reportedly settled without admitting wrongdoing. Together, the cases underscore ongoing legal and regulatory exposure tied to consumer privacy representations, data handling, and the gap between product claims and alleged internal access/collection practices.
Jun 29, 2026