A $25 billion penalty against Meta, over claims it misled users about privacy, is a reminder to check what your social apps actually do with your data.
Meta, the company behind Facebook and Instagram, has been ordered to pay $25 billion for misleading users about their privacy. The New York Times reports the penalty is one of the largest ever placed on the company. It followed a lawsuit brought by the state of New Mexico.
New Mexico sued Meta and claimed the company had misled users about how their data was handled. The penalty is the result. Privacy, in this case, means what a company collects about you and what it tells you about that collection. The core charge is that the two did not match.
Facebook and Instagram are used by billions of people. Anyone with an account has a stake in how Meta describes its privacy practices. The material available does not say whether users will receive any of the money or whether anything changes inside the apps.
A company's words about privacy may not match its actions. That makes it worth a few minutes to open the privacy settings in your social media apps. Look at who can see your posts, what information the app collects, and which options you can turn off. Review them again from time to time.
Do not rely on a company's privacy promises alone; check the privacy settings in your Facebook and Instagram apps yourself.
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