FACEBOOK FOUND LIABLE IN NEW MEXICO AS TIKTOK SETTLES ALABAMA CASE FOR $100M

A jury in New Mexico found Facebook, owned by Meta, liable for violating the state's consumer protection law, the state's Department of Justice said on Friday. The same day, TikTok and its Chinese parent, ByteDance, agreed a settlement with Alabama, days before a scheduled trial. Alabama's attorney general's office said the deal resolves claims that TikTok endangered children and misled consumers about the platform's safety. TikTok will pay Alabama at least $100 million, its first settlement with a US state over such claims.

Facebook's trial centred on claims that the company misled users about a data breach in which personal data was harvested from about 87 million profiles through a third-party quiz, then sold to Cambridge Analytica. The now-defunct political consulting firm used the data to assist Donald Trump's 2016 campaign and had intended to work with a pro-Brexit group. Jurors found Facebook had deceived the public about investigations into third parties harvesting user data. Alabama's attorney general's office alleged TikTok's algorithm pushes young users towards increasingly intense content about violence and self-harm. Its settlement requires TikTok to impose a two-hour daily limit and 15-minute usage pauses for teenagers, plus stricter age checks.

New Mexico's Department of Justice called the verdict "a significant victory for New Mexico consumers" that holds "one of the world's largest technology companies accountable for its conduct." Alabama's payout could rise to $300 million if 40 other state attorneys general reach similar agreements with TikTok within a specified period, according to the settlement's terms. TikTok continues to face comparable legal claims over user safety in other parts of the United States. Meta faces further litigation over its handling of user data and child safety.