Facebook‘s parent company, Meta has been fined nearly $25 million for over 800 counts of campaign finance law violations in Washington state.
On Wednesday, a Washington state judge for the King County Superior Court ruled Meta must pay the maximum fine of $24.66 million for violating the state’s 1972 Fair Campaign Practices Act.
The law requires ad sellers to publicize the names and addresses of those who purchase political ads, the ads’ target, how the ads were paid for, and the number of views on the ad.
The law traditionally permits fines of up to $10,000 for each violation. Still, the court was able to triple the penalty to $30,000 per violation because the conduct was intentional and Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson (D) previously sued Facebook in 2018 for violating the same law, according to The Hill.
“I have one word for Facebook’s conduct in this case — arrogance,” said Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson. “It intentionally disregarded Washington’s election transparency laws.”
“But that wasn’t enough,” he continued. “Facebook argued in court that those laws should be declared unconstitutional. That’s breathtaking. Where’s the corporate responsibility? I urge Facebook to come to its senses, accept responsibility, apologize for its conduct, and comply with the law.”
Meta unsuccessfully argued that the law is unconstitutional because it violates free speech and is “virtually impossible to comply with.”
In 2018, when AG Ferguson first levied allegations of campaign finance violations against the company a judge ordered Meta to pay $238,000 and commit to transparency in campaign finance and advertising. However, because the company continued to run political ads in Washington without keeping the required information Ferguson was pressed to sue again in 2020.
According to a press release, the fine marks the most expensive campaign penalty in the country.
Meta, along with other Big Tech companies, have faced increased scrutiny and legal challenges stemming from their attempts to influence U.S. elections.
Republicans are seeking to make inroads in Washington state, which has traditionally leaned towards Democrats in previous elections. However, a recent Trafalgar Group poll showed Republican Senate candidate Tiffany Smiley only two percentage points behind 30-year incumbent Sen. Patty Murray, causing some Democrats to panic about a potential red wave this November.
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Not a surprise. Liberals don’t follow rules.
2 insignificant. Should 25m for each dollar donated. .
should be fined the $300+ mil they spent in their election hijack scheme. . .for every state where it was perpetrated.
Need to add at least one more ‘zero’ to that fine. Otherwise, a compant that big will just see it as ‘the cost of doing business.’