In what is believed to be the highest campaign finance penalty in American history, a judge in Washington state fined Facebook's parent corporation Meta nearly $25 million on Wednesday for repeatedly and deliberately breaking the law requiring disclosure of campaign contributions, according to a report by AP.
For more than 800 violations of Washington's Fair Campaign Practices Act, which voters passed in 1972 and the Legislature later tightened, King County Superior Court Judge Douglass North imposed the maximum penalty possible.
MENLO PARK, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 28: Facebook employees unveil a new logo and the name 'Meta' on the sign in front of Facebook headquarters on October 28, 2021 in Menlo Park, California. A new name and logo were unveiled at Facebook headquarters after a much anticipated name change for the social media platform.
Maximum "Justified"
Attorney General of Washington Bob Ferguson stated that the maximum was justified since his agency filed a lawsuit against Facebook in 2018 for breaking the same law.
According to Washington's transparency law, ad vendors like Meta are required to keep track of and make public the names and addresses of people who purchase political advertisements as well as the target audience, method of payment, and total number of views for each ad.
The ad vendors must provide the details to anyone who requests them. Networks for newspapers and television have consistently followed this law, according to AP.
However, Meta has consistently protested the requirements, claiming in court that the law is unconstitutional since it "unduly burdens political speech" and is "nearly impossible to fully comply with."
Facebook does retain a record of the political advertisements that are placed on its site, but the record does not contain all of the information that is required by Washington's law, as per AP's report.
Ferguson's History with Facebook
Following the initial complaint filed by Ferguson in 2018, Facebook consented to pay $238,000 and committed to transparency in political advertising and campaign financing. It subsequently declared that it would discontinue selling political advertisements in the state rather than follow the rules.
But Ferguson filed a second lawsuit in 2020 when the social media giant persisted in selling political advertisements.
The typical fine for each violation of the statute is $10,000, but if the judge determines that the infraction was deliberate, the fine might be tripled. For each of its 822 offenses, North fined Meta $30,000, totaling nearly $24.7 million.
The fine, according to Ferguson, was the biggest campaign finance-related fine ever levied in the U.S.
Meta is currently treading hot waters as its stock price plunged by roughly on Thursday, Oct. 27. It comes after none other than its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, addressed the doubts of its investors regarding the company's exorbitant costs for its metaverse project.
The tech giant's share price fell sharply at the heels of its announcement that it expects a dismal outlook for the holiday season or the year's final quarter. The parent business of Facebook also acknowledged that by the next year, its costs would likely soar.
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Written by Joaquin Victor Tacla
