Meta found guilty of flouting Washington political ad laws – again
(2022/09/06)
- Reference: 1662483606
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2022/09/06/meta_guilty_again_of_violating/
- Source link:
Facebook has been found guilty in Washington of breaking the state's strict campaign finance transparency laws – again – and was defeated in its attempt to get a judge to loosen those laws to favor it.
Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson [1]said on Friday that a judge in King County Superior Court ruled that not only had the Facebook parent company violated Washington's political ad statutes, but that it had done so intentionally on hundreds of occasions.
Per the law, commercial advertisers like Facebook are required to maintain records of political campaign ads hosted on their platforms, including costs, sponsors, and targeting information. According to Ferguson's office, Facebook's ad library includes some, but not all, of the data Washington state requires it to include.
[2]
Ferguson's office has twice sued Meta for not producing appropriate campaign advertising records, with the first suit in 2018 being decided by a consent decree that saw Meta pay out just $238,000.
[3]
[4]
According to Ferguson's office, "Meta continued to run Washington political ads without maintaining the required information," which prompted a second suit in 2020, of which this latest decision is part.
Washington state law could fine Meta $10,000 per violation, which can be tripled in this instance as Meta was found guilty of violating the law intentionally.
Meta fought the law; the law won
In [5]its motion for summary judgment [PDF], Meta said that Washington's political speech laws were "onerous" violations of the First Amendment that the state "cannot justify… under heightened scrutiny."
[6]Instagram fined in Ireland for violating children's privacy
[7]Apple app transparency changes bring in the ad bucks... for Apple
[8]Google, YouTube ban election trolls ahead of US midterms
[9]Meta hedges bets on metaverse silicon with Qualcomm VR deal
The company made a number of claims for why it believed the judge should strike portions of the statute, including aforementioned First Amendment violations, that the law violated the Communications Decency Act, and that similar laws had been struck down in other jurisdictions. By ruling in favor of Ferguson's office, the judge appeared unconvinced of Meta's reasoning.
"We defeated Facebook's cynical attempt to strike down our campaign finance transparency law. On behalf of the people of Washington, I challenge Facebook to accept this decision and do something very simple – follow the law," Ferguson said.
[10]
Facebook and Meta have been mired in political controversy since 2016, when [11]evidence emerged of widespread [12]misinformation campaigns during the US presidential election. Since then, Meta has [13]done little to assuage fears despite the company [14]pledging to open up its data vaults in the name of political ad transparency.
Election misinformation [15]continues to circulate on social media platforms – including Facebook – which makes Meta's claim that it plans to take [16]a similar approach to the 2022 midterms that it did with the 2020 presidential election less than comforting.
[17]Google , [18]Twitter , and [19]TikTok have also revealed plans to combat political misinformation ahead of US midterms this November, mostly consisting of stepping up fact checking, deranking content flagged as misinformation, and prompting users to read a link before sharing it.
[20]
The Associated Press said that the various platforms shared [21]little in the way of specifics , like how much manpower or cash they were devoting to the efforts, that could help quantify how effective they may actually be. ®
Get our [22]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.atg.wa.gov/news/news-releases/ag-ferguson-judge-rules-facebook-parent-meta-intentionally-violated-campaign
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YxfC@AbTBDhx9Fn4djQTjAAAAI8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YxfC@AbTBDhx9Fn4djQTjAAAAI8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YxfC@AbTBDhx9Fn4djQTjAAAAI8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://regmedia.co.uk/2022/09/06/facebook-wa-motion.pdf
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/06/instagram_ireland_privacy_fine_children/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/06/apple_app_transparency_ad_revenues/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/02/google_youtube_election_misinformation/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/02/meta_metaverse_qualcomm/
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YxfC@AbTBDhx9Fn4djQTjAAAAI8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2017/09/07/facebook_russian_political_ads/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2018/05/10/congress_russian_facebook_troll_ads/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2020/07/21/facebook_trump_statements/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2022/05/24/facebook_political_ad_targeting_data/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2022/04/07/russia_weaponize_facebook/
[16] https://about.fb.com/news/2022/08/meta-plans-for-2022-us-midterms/
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/02/google_youtube_election_misinformation/
[18] https://www.theregister.com/2022/08/12/twitter_midterm_integrity_plan/
[19] https://www.theregister.com/2022/08/17/tiktok_midterm_elections_policy/
[20] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YxfC@AbTBDhx9Fn4djQTjAAAAI8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[21] https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-technology-voting-c53ee038548afb9bcaa280705b15696e
[22] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson [1]said on Friday that a judge in King County Superior Court ruled that not only had the Facebook parent company violated Washington's political ad statutes, but that it had done so intentionally on hundreds of occasions.
Per the law, commercial advertisers like Facebook are required to maintain records of political campaign ads hosted on their platforms, including costs, sponsors, and targeting information. According to Ferguson's office, Facebook's ad library includes some, but not all, of the data Washington state requires it to include.
[2]
Ferguson's office has twice sued Meta for not producing appropriate campaign advertising records, with the first suit in 2018 being decided by a consent decree that saw Meta pay out just $238,000.
[3]
[4]
According to Ferguson's office, "Meta continued to run Washington political ads without maintaining the required information," which prompted a second suit in 2020, of which this latest decision is part.
Washington state law could fine Meta $10,000 per violation, which can be tripled in this instance as Meta was found guilty of violating the law intentionally.
Meta fought the law; the law won
In [5]its motion for summary judgment [PDF], Meta said that Washington's political speech laws were "onerous" violations of the First Amendment that the state "cannot justify… under heightened scrutiny."
[6]Instagram fined in Ireland for violating children's privacy
[7]Apple app transparency changes bring in the ad bucks... for Apple
[8]Google, YouTube ban election trolls ahead of US midterms
[9]Meta hedges bets on metaverse silicon with Qualcomm VR deal
The company made a number of claims for why it believed the judge should strike portions of the statute, including aforementioned First Amendment violations, that the law violated the Communications Decency Act, and that similar laws had been struck down in other jurisdictions. By ruling in favor of Ferguson's office, the judge appeared unconvinced of Meta's reasoning.
"We defeated Facebook's cynical attempt to strike down our campaign finance transparency law. On behalf of the people of Washington, I challenge Facebook to accept this decision and do something very simple – follow the law," Ferguson said.
[10]
Facebook and Meta have been mired in political controversy since 2016, when [11]evidence emerged of widespread [12]misinformation campaigns during the US presidential election. Since then, Meta has [13]done little to assuage fears despite the company [14]pledging to open up its data vaults in the name of political ad transparency.
Election misinformation [15]continues to circulate on social media platforms – including Facebook – which makes Meta's claim that it plans to take [16]a similar approach to the 2022 midterms that it did with the 2020 presidential election less than comforting.
[17]Google , [18]Twitter , and [19]TikTok have also revealed plans to combat political misinformation ahead of US midterms this November, mostly consisting of stepping up fact checking, deranking content flagged as misinformation, and prompting users to read a link before sharing it.
[20]
The Associated Press said that the various platforms shared [21]little in the way of specifics , like how much manpower or cash they were devoting to the efforts, that could help quantify how effective they may actually be. ®
Get our [22]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.atg.wa.gov/news/news-releases/ag-ferguson-judge-rules-facebook-parent-meta-intentionally-violated-campaign
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YxfC@AbTBDhx9Fn4djQTjAAAAI8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YxfC@AbTBDhx9Fn4djQTjAAAAI8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YxfC@AbTBDhx9Fn4djQTjAAAAI8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://regmedia.co.uk/2022/09/06/facebook-wa-motion.pdf
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/06/instagram_ireland_privacy_fine_children/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/06/apple_app_transparency_ad_revenues/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/02/google_youtube_election_misinformation/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/02/meta_metaverse_qualcomm/
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YxfC@AbTBDhx9Fn4djQTjAAAAI8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2017/09/07/facebook_russian_political_ads/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2018/05/10/congress_russian_facebook_troll_ads/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2020/07/21/facebook_trump_statements/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2022/05/24/facebook_political_ad_targeting_data/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2022/04/07/russia_weaponize_facebook/
[16] https://about.fb.com/news/2022/08/meta-plans-for-2022-us-midterms/
[17] https://www.theregister.com/2022/09/02/google_youtube_election_misinformation/
[18] https://www.theregister.com/2022/08/12/twitter_midterm_integrity_plan/
[19] https://www.theregister.com/2022/08/17/tiktok_midterm_elections_policy/
[20] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YxfC@AbTBDhx9Fn4djQTjAAAAI8&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[21] https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-technology-voting-c53ee038548afb9bcaa280705b15696e
[22] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Only one thing
Anonymous Coward
That the penalties are finally rising to the point the fines have teeth. If they stick then Metaface may have a reason to treat complying with the law as a necessity as opposed to another line in the expense form.
Fines against a serially non-compliant company that are less that the profit generated by the violation aren't a deterrence, they are a bribe to the government to take the cash and look the other way.
Huh..
Claptrap314
Let me see... "hundreds"--that is, less than 1000. Okay, so during Q2 2022, Meta reported $6687M earnings. That's.... $73M/day. 1000*30k = $30M, or half a day's profits.
Yep, I'm certain that will change their behavior...
So, let's see...
TechBro doesn't like law, because law prevents him from doing things his own way. TechBro ignores law, TechBro breaks law, TechBro gets caught and then, of course, TechBro complains about law and that law shouldn't apply to him, "because".
Yes, the sun rose in the east today. So what else is new??