Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has been fined nearly $25 million by the state of Washington for violating its campaign finance laws.
“This represents the largest campaign finance penalty anywhere in the country — ever,” according to a release from the Washington Attorney General’s Office.
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The judgment stems from a 2020 lawsuit by Attorney General Bob Ferguson against Meta for repeated violations of the state’s campaign finance law. The Washington law requires commercial advertisers to maintain records on the ads and make them available to the public. Information that must be kept on file includes the cost of the ad, the ad’s sponsor, and targeting and reach information.
King County Superior Court Judge Douglass North’s ruling says Meta intentionally violated the Washington law and ordered the company to pay treble damages and fees incurred by the state to bring the case to trial.
“I have one word for Facebook’s conduct in this case — arrogance,” Ferguson said in a statement. “It intentionally disregarded Washington’s election transparency laws. … I urge Facebook to come to its senses, accept responsibility, apologize for its conduct, and comply with the law. If Facebook refuses to do this, we will beat them again in court.”
Meta faced a similar lawsuit in 2018, which it also lost and was required to pay $238,000.
