Rhode Island settled its claims against Meta in August for at least $49.4 million and up to $64.5 million, and a watchdog group argues New Mexico’s $25 billion trial result shows states like Rhode Island should be willing to litigate.
A state judge in Santa Fe ordered Meta on Wednesday to pay New Mexico $25 billion in civil penalties. New Mexico won that order by going to trial, after it stayed out of the multistate settlement Rhode Island signed in August.
The order comes under New Mexico’s Unfair Practices Act and follows a September jury verdict. According to the New Mexico Department of Justice, the jury found more than 43 million violations tied to how Facebook described its handling of user data. The state sued in January 2021…