A landmark court order out of New Mexico is requiring Meta, the company operating Facebook and Instagram, to pay $25 billion in civil penalties.
The order is linked to the2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal, which exposed nearly 87 million Facebook users' data, according to multiple reports.
According to New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez, the data breach impacted over 350,000 New Mexicans whose personal information was brokered or sold unknowingly to a political consulting firm.
New Mexico challenged Facebook's data practices and representations to consumers as well as the platform's efforts to address hate speech and misinformation.
Are people getting paid from the $25 billion meta order?
While the case stems from issues with consumer data and privacy, it does not appear that the New Mexico order
will result in checks cut to individual users.
Instead, the money is expected to be allotted toward education per the state's constitution.
"We intend to do everything in our power to make sure that those resources are eventually delivered to the State of New Mexico for the benefit of its people," Torrez said in a press conference.
Am I impacted by the $25 billion Meta order?
While this court order stems from data breach issues going back to the 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal, the $25 billion penalty is to be paid to New Mexico specifically.
When is Meta paying the $25 billion court order?
Torrez said in a news conference that the state expects Meta to appeal the judgement.
Typically, no payments are made or allocated until all appeals are settled.
Can I still get paid from Meta settlements?
While it appears that money from this order will be allocated to education in New Mexico, there are still numerous ongoing settlement cases and refund orders involving different companies across the U.S.
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Kaitlyn McCormick is a Philadelphia-based reporter writing all things cost of living related for USA TODAY.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Were you affected by Meta's record $25 billion privacy fine?
