Meta’s ‘Arrogance’ Results in Washington Court Fining Company Nearly $25 Million for Disclosure Violations
A Washington state court fined Meta $24.66 million for intentionally violating campaign finance disclosure law—the largest-ever such penalty in U.S. history—which was imposed on the company for repeatedly violating state law.
The parent company of social media behemoth Facebook was fined the maximum allowed under the Fair Campaign Practices Act for 822 violations. Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson argued that the fine amount was appropriate, especially because his office previously sued Facebook in 2018 for violating the same law.
The act requires media companies to disclose names and addresses of those who buy political ads, ad targets, how the ads were paid for, and the total number of ad views, to anyone who seeks it. Traditional platforms like television and newspapers have been following the law, passed by voters in 1972, but Meta had repeatedly objected to the requirements….