Attorneys for the US state of New Mexico said Meta Platforms Inc, was incorrect in its $725 million settlement of a lawsuit. The lawsuit alleged that Facebook illegally shared user data with a contentious research business that protects it from similar claims.
Last year, Meta and Cambridge Analytica reached a settlement in their legal dispute. In the court case, lawyers representing Facebook users claimed the largest recovery in the history of data protection class actions. On Tuesday, Meta shocked New Mexico by informing them that the accord reached in federal court in San Francisco would extinguish a related case the southwestern state had brought.
In its brief, New Mexico claimed that the court “must be aware of Facebook’s understanding of the Settlement Agreement.” This is to guarantee that the court does not unintentionally reveal claims made against Facebook in other cases and jurisdictions.
What triggered the lawsuit in the first place?
The agreement attempts to end a 2018 lawsuit. Facebook users filed the lawsuit after it was discovered that a UK research company linked to Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign had access to the data of up to 87 million users of the social media network. A federal judge who is supervising the lawsuit must approve the accord.
The settlement was in the best interests of Meta’s community and stockholders, the company declared in December. According to users’ attorneys, Facebook has stopped letting external parties access user data through friends. Moreover, it has improved its ability to regulate and track how third parties are able to obtain and exploit user data.
According to court records, it was the attorney general of New Mexico who filed the complaint against Meta Platforms. It is based on almost exactly the same events as the San Francisco case. A message requesting remarks was sent beyond regular working hours, yet there was no prompt reaction from Meta.
