Summary
When attorneys general from across the US announced a 25 billion to resolve claims that Meta misled users around the 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal and related incidents. Similar claims were resolved by the settlement with most other states. The outcome raised an obvious question: Should these states have asked for more? Meta’s 25 billion legal loss just put blood in the water Should states have sought more in their kids online safety settlement? Should states have sought more in their kids online safety settlement?   The answer depends on a mix of factors, including whether the 25 billion order stands up to Meta’s legal challenges. Meta’s chief legal officer C.J. Mahoney said in a statement that the company is “confident we will prevail on appeal” and called New Mexico’s lawsuit an attempt to impose “a tax on speech.” If the fine sticks, however, it could create a new appetite for Big Tech’s opponents to stick it out in court — or ask for bigger payouts to settle. “For the settling AGs, they’re going to look at this and maybe experience some regret for all the claims that they waived, and start looking around and trying to figure out what’s left that they didn’t waive, if they can try to get some money like this too,” says Daphne Keller, director of platform regulation at the Stanford Program in Law, Science & Technology. For the many individuals, school districts, and tribes with outstanding claims, “this is very encouraging and will make them hopeful that continuing to litigate aggressively will lead to a big payout,” Keller says. The 459 million payment. While that number looks comparatively puny, there were upsides to taking it. A settlement provided more certainty and an expedited payout for states even though Meta will be making the payments over 10 years. It also secured product commitments from Meta, like restrictions on teen usage, that might have been more difficult to get from a court ruling. And it allowed those to be implemented soon after the settlement was approved, which advocates say is important to prevent further harm to kids. Other state attorneys general also may have been working with different laws or evidence that could result in outcomes different from those obtained in New Mexico. “Assuming that even a fraction of this award gets upheld, then they clearly took pennies on the dollar compared to New Mexico” But New Mexico’s win, combined with other recent legal victories for AGs and private plaintiffs — including a separate judgment of [nearly 25 billion ruling makes other states rethink their strategy, Reid says there could be a range of approaches, depending partly on whether the figure is upheld on appeal and whether Meta loses yet more cases. “Is that a game that every state attorney general wants to play?” he asks. “And I think the settlement in the other case suggests maybe not.” Still, the new figure may change what AGs think they can achieve in court. And the more losses Meta and other tech companies rack up, the more ambitious they might get. Most Popular
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