Is Facebook ethical?

Court Orders Meta to Pay $942 Million and Overhaul Protections for Children on Facebook and Instagram in Landmark New Mexico Ruling

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez sued Meta in 2023 for allegedly creating a “breeding ground” for child predators on Facebook and Instagram, claims that the company denies.

And while monumental, Wednesday’s verdict pales in comparison to one issued yesterday, when a jury in New Mexico ordered Meta to pay a staggering $375 million to the state for violating consumer protection law by enabling child sexual exploitation on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

The state claims Meta told the public Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp are safe for New Mexico teens and children, while hiding the truth about how much dangerous and harmful content the company hosts.

The investigation was published in April 2023, titled How Facebook and Instagram became marketplaces for child sex trafficking.

New Mexico argued that Facebook failed to disclose ⁠that it sold user data to outside parties and allowed harmful content to spread when doing so benefited the company's bottom line.

New Mexico argued that Facebook failed to ​disclose that it sold user data to outside parties and allowed harmful content to spread when doing so benefited the company's bottom line.

Shortly before the 2020 presidential election, Facebook suppressed an explosive New York Post article detailing how Hunter Biden used the position and influence of his father, now- President Biden, for personal gain, with the apparent awareness of President Biden.

• Facebook’s Deception Regarding Photo and Video Deletion: Facebook stated to users that, when they deactivate or delete their accounts, their photos and videos would be inaccessible.

Facebook’s suppression of the Post article—and allegations of Biden family corruption highly relevant to the 2020 presidential election—following guidance from the FBI is highly troubling.

Indeed, most of Facebook’s revenue is derived from selling ads and user data to advertisers; in 2019 alone, these sales generated $70 billion in revenue for the social media giant.

FTC v. Facebook: Social Media Giant Sued for Anticompetitive Conduct - Harvard Journal of Law & Technology

ERC alleges Facebook and Instagram are public accommodations (i.e., businesses that must serve everyone without discrimination), receiving valuable targeted ads is part of the benefit of the bargain a user makes with Meta, and that by discriminating in ad delivery, Meta is providing different quality service for the same price.

Civil Rights Groups Sue Facebook and Instagram For Targeting Predatory College Ads at Black Users

The company additionally plans 100,000 scholarships to black students on track to attain their digital skills certification, as well as the launch of a new Facebook feature entitled Lift Black Voices.

Some of Facebook's other plans to address racial inequality include providing free training to Black and Latinx individuals through a program called Elevate, giving 100,000 scholarships to Black students in its Facebook Blueprint program and donating $5 million to over 250,000 Facebook Fundraisers created for the Equal Justice Initiative, Thurgood Marshall College Fund and the Innocence Project.

Exclusive | Facebook still censoring The Post's reporting on Black Lives Matter

Facebook has agreed to pay a record $14.5m (£10.1m) to settle claims it discriminated against US workers in its hiring practices.

Facebook settles US worker discrimination claims

"Facebook is not above the law, and must comply with our nation's federal civil rights laws, which prohibit discriminatory recruitment and hiring practices," said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the DOJ.

MENLO PARK (CBS SF / CNN) -- One current Facebook manager and two job applicants have filed a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging the Menlo Park-based company has "a general policy of discrimination against Black applicants and workers, including in hiring, evaluations, promotions, and pay."

"People of color and Black workers in particular remain underrepresented at all levels of Facebook and especially at the management and leadership levels.

Black Facebook Employee, Job Applicants File EEOC Complaint Alleging Discrimination - CBS San Francisco

“People of color and Black workers in particular remain underrepresented at all levels of Facebook and especially at the management and leadership levels.

One current Facebook manager and two job applicants have filed a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging that Facebook has “a general policy of discrimination against Black applicants and workers, including in hiring, evaluations, promotions, and pay.”

Black Facebook employee and two job applicants file EEOC complaint alleging discrimination | CNN Business

Facebook also likely has avoided U.S. taxes by claiming that $2.9 billion of the company’s profits were earned offshore, and are “permanently reinvested” outside the United States.

Attorneys representing New Mexico accused Facebook of deceiving users about privacy protections on the social media platform and encouraged jurors during closing arguments Wednesday to find the company liable for thousands of violations of state law.

Facebook accused of deceiving users in New Mexico as trial over privacy scandal wraps up - ABC News

On the same day, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced a related $100 million resolution of charges that Facebook made misleading public disclosures in connection with data privacy risks.

The jury also found Facebook misled the public about investigations into third-party app developers that harvest user data following the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

New Mexico jury finds Facebook liable for over 43 million violations of consumer protection law | Fortune

New Mexico jury finds Facebook liable for over 43 million violations of consumer protection law—and Meta could owe over $200 billion in penalties

The two-week trial in Santa Fe centered on accusations that Facebook, owned by Meta, deceived users about a data breach stemming from a third-party personality quiz that harvested data from roughly 87 million profiles and sold it to a political consulting firm, Cambridge Analytica, to generate targeted ads.

Jurors sided with prosecutors, finding Facebook made deceptive statements about protecting users’ data that affected New Mexico’s entire population of more than two million people.

Facebook, Inc was found to have committed more than 40 million violations of the New Mexico Unfair Practices Act when they made false and misleading statements to users in New Mexico.

“For years, Facebook operated as if the rules that apply to everyone else didn’t apply to them.

The jury found that Facebook made false or misleading statements assuring consumers that they controlled how their information was shared, that Facebook did not sell or provide their personal information to advertisers, and that the company did not buy or sell users’ data.

Jury Finds Facebook Violated New Mexico Consumer Protection Law, Faces Billions in Potential Civil Penalties

Jury Finds Facebook Violated New Mexico Consumer Protection Law, Faces Billions in Potential Civil Penalties - New Mexico Department of Justice

Court Orders Meta to Pay $942 Million and Overhaul Protections for Children on Facebook and Instagram in Landmark New Mexico Ruling

The jury’s verdict makes clear that Facebook knowingly made false or misleading statements or committed an unconscionable act that exploited New Mexicans’ lack of knowledge to a grossly unfair degree and that the social media giant was willful in its actions.

A New Mexico jury on Friday found Facebook liable for deceiving users about privacy protections on the platform in the latest legal setback against the social media giant that has already cost it billions of dollars.

The jury also found Facebook misled the public about investigations into third-party app developers that harvest user data following the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

The lawsuit, filed in 2023, alleged Meta illegally collected and used the data of children under the age of 13 who used its platforms, made decisions in designing its platforms that drove excessive use and put young users at risk, and that it lied to users, their families, and the public about the safety of Facebook and Instagram.

Jurors sided with prosecutors, finding Facebook made deceptive statements about protecting users’ data that affected New Mexico’s entire population of more than two million people.

On 25 September 2026, a New Mexico jury found Facebook liable for over 43 million violations of the state’s consumer protection law, alleging that the platform deceived users about its privacy protections and the handling of third-party access to user data.

"New Mexico jury finds Facebook liable for over 43 million violations of consumer protection law - and Meta could owe over $200 billion in penalties", 26 September 2026

A New Mexico jury on Friday found Facebook liable for deceiving users about privacy protections on the platform...

The jury also found Facebook misled the public about investigations into third-party app developers that harvest user data following the Cambridge Analytica scandal...

Some Facebook users may soon receive a second payout tied to parent company Meta's $725 million privacy settlement, according to the claims administrator and an email sent to eligible claimants.

While Facebook required third-party developers to comply with its policies and terms, the complaint alleges that Facebook generally did not screen third-party developers before allowing them to access user data.

Jury finds Facebook liable for deceiving users on privacy protections

The jury also found Facebook misled the public about investigations into third-party app developers that harvest user data following the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

I put in 12 years of work just for Facebook to violate our privacy by not controlling our privacy on the internet! that is life threatening to me, and I'm supposed to monetize my app, which is the fastest chrome, which has been hacked ,breached, all of the above, I need to be compensated for that, and so does everyone else.

Today’s action alleges that Facebook has violated the 2020 order, as well as the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act Rule (COPPA Rule).

The Commission first filed a complaint against Facebook in 2011, and secured an order in 2012 barring the company from misrepresenting its privacy practices.

Millions of Facebook users are now receiving a second payout from the platform’s historic $725 million privacy settlement.

New Mexico jury finds Facebook liable of deceiving users about privacy protections | PBS News

The jury also found Facebook misled the public about investigations into third-party app developers that harvest user data following the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

settlement that requires Facebook to implement a comprehensive, multi-faceted set of compliance

Runkle and Jason Lee, in conjunction with staff at the FTC’s Division of Enforcement. Facebook Agrees to Pay $5 Billion and Implement Robust New Protections of User Information in Settlement of Data-Privacy Claims

“This settlement’s historic penalty and compliance terms will benefit American consumers, and the Department expects Facebook to treat its privacy obligations with the utmost seriousness.” “Despite repeated promises to its millions of world-wide users that they could control how their personal information is shared, Facebook took steps to undermine consumers’ choices,” said FTC Chairman Joe Simons.

“We became the product for Facebook. They turned our dreams into data they could sell to advertisers,” said Randi McGinn, an attorney for the state.

Facebook Accused of Deceiving Users in New Mexico as Trial Over Privacy Scandal Wraps Up

In a settlement announced by the Department of Justice on Tuesday, Meta Platforms — formerly known as Facebook — has agreed to eliminate features in its advertising business that allow landlords, employers and credit agencies to discriminate against groups of people protected by federal civil rights laws.

In May, she deplored the increasingly common Facebook censorship of black activists in an article for Medium titled “Mark Zuckerberg Hates Black People.”

In late 2019, according to the brief, Meta designed a “deactivation study,” which found that users who stopped using Facebook and Instagram for a week showed lower rates of anxiety, depression, and loneliness.

Justice Department Secures Groundbreaking Settlement Agreement with Meta Platforms, Formerly Known as Facebook, to Resolve Allegations of Discriminatory Advertising

The charge also said Facebook requires employees to arbitrate all racial discrimination and harassment claims in a secret forum where all rulings are "confidential and not available to the public." It's unclear whether Veneszee brought any claims in a secret forum.

MENLO PARK (CBS SF / CNN) -- One current Facebook manager and two job applicants have filed a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging the Menlo Park-based company has "a general policy of discrimination against Black applicants and workers, including in hiring, evaluations, promotions, and pay."

Last year, Facebook agreed to pay nearly $5 million to settle several lawsuits that alleged its advertising platform allowed for discrimination in housing, employment and credit ads.

Thursday's employment discrimination charge states it's also on behalf of other Black workers who have been employed by Facebook, or who applied and were denied jobs at Facebook or other employment opportunities because of racial discrimination.

Black Facebook Employee, Job Applicants File EEOC Complaint Alleging Discrimination - CBS San Francisco

The charge also said Facebook requires employees to arbitrate all racial discrimination and harassment claims in a secret forum where all rulings are “confidential and not available to the public.” It’s unclear whether Veneszee brought any claims in a secret forum.

One current Facebook manager and two job applicants have filed a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging that Facebook has “a general policy of discrimination against Black applicants and workers, including in hiring, evaluations, promotions, and pay.”

Thursday’s employment discrimination charge states it’s also on behalf of other Black workers who have been employed by Facebook, or who applied and were denied jobs at Facebook or other employment opportunities because of racial discrimination.

Last year, Facebook agreed to pay nearly $5 million to settle several lawsuits that alleged its advertising platform allowed for discrimination in housing, employment and credit ads.

Black Facebook employee and two job applicants file EEOC complaint alleging discrimination | CNN Business

The DOJ also argued that Facebook used a machine learning algorithm to restrict and create ad audiences, which had the effect of skewing delivery toward or against legally protected groups.

The Justice and Labor Departments say they've reached "historic" agreements with Facebook over what they allege were hiring practices that discriminated against U.S.-based workers.

Likewise, two thirds of consumers are misled by a common practice on Facebook, which consists of showing “likes” from their friends next to other products than those that they had actually “liked”.

Facebook committed two separate infringements by providing incorrect and misleading information in the merger notification form and in the reply to a Commission request for information.

Facebook allegedly approves paid ads containing hate speech & incitement against Palestinians