Facebook Found Liable in US Privacy Case as TikTok Agrees to $100m Settlement

Two major technology companies, Facebook and TikTok, have suffered legal setbacks in the United States over allegations that they misled users about safety and privacy.

A jury in New Mexico on Friday found Facebook, owned by Meta, liable for violating 43 million state consumer protection laws. On the same day, TikTok and its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, agreed to pay at least $100 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the state of Alabama.

The New Mexico case centred on the Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal, in which data from about 87 million Facebook profiles was harvested through a third-party personality quiz and provided to the political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica.

Prosecutors argued that Facebook misled New Mexico residents about its efforts to protect users' personal information and investigate third parties that collected user data.

New Mexico’s Department of Justice described the verdict as a major victory for consumers, while Meta spokesperson Alex Burgos said the company disagreed with the decision and would continue defending its record.

Meanwhile, Alabama accused TikTok of deliberately designing its platform to be addictive and of misleading users about its safety features.

The state also alleged that TikTok’s algorithm exposed young users to increasingly violent content, contributing to a youth mental health crisis. TikTok was further accused of making misleading claims about age restrictions and Chinese government access to US users’ data.

Under the settlement, Alabama will receive at least $100 million within 45 days, with the amount potentially rising to $300 million if certain conditions are met.

TikTok also agreed to introduce a two-hour daily usage limit, pause the app after 15 minutes of continuous use and strengthen its age-verification measures.

At least 27 other US states and Washington, DC, have filed similar lawsuits against TikTok. The company previously agreed to a $400 million settlement with the US Department of Justice over allegations that it violated federal laws protecting children's privacy.

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