A judge ordered Meta to pay Washington $10.5 million in legal fees | Business news

SEATTLE (AP) — Facebook’s parent company Meta has been ordered to pay Washington state $10.5 million in legal fees on top of nearly $25 million in fines for repeated and willful violations of the company’s financial disclosure laws.

King County Superior Court Judge Douglas North issued the legal fees order Friday, two days after he slapped the social media giant with what is believed to be the largest campaign finance fine in U.S. history. This was reported by the Seattle Times.

North ordered the company to pay by wire transfer, check or money order within 30 days. The money is supposed to go to the state’s disclosure commission, which enforces campaign finance laws.

North imposed the maximum fine allowed for more than 800 violations of Washington’s Fair Campaign Practices Act, passed by voters in 1972 and later strengthened by the Legislature. Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson argued that the maximum was appropriate, given that his office previously sued Facebook in 2018 for violating the same law.

Meta, based in Menlo Park, Calif., did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment, the newspaper reported.

The company previously said it was evaluating its options regarding the ruling.

Washington’s Transparency Act requires ad sellers like Meta to store and release the names and addresses of those who buy political ads, the purpose of those ads, how the ads were paid for, and the total number of times each ad was viewed. Advertising sellers must provide information to anyone who requests it. Television stations and newspapers have followed the law for decades.

But Meta has repeatedly challenged the requirements, arguing unsuccessfully in court that the law is unconstitutional because it “unduly burdens political speech” and is “virtually impossible to fully enforce.” While Facebook does maintain an archive of political ads that appear on the platform, the archive does not disclose all the information required under Washington law.

In 2018, after Ferguson’s first lawsuit, Facebook agreed to pay $238,000 and pledged to be transparent about campaign financing and political advertising. He later said he would stop selling political ads in the state rather than comply.

However, the company continued to sell political ads, and Ferguson sued again in 2020.

Meta, one of the world’s richest companies, on Wednesday reported quarterly earnings of $4.4 billion, or $1.64 a share, on revenue of nearly $28 billion for the three-month period ended Sept. 30.

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