Meta intentionally violated state campaign ad law 822 times, judge finds
Meta Platforms Inc. (Nasdaq: META) intentionally violated Washington state's campaign finance hundreds of times, a King County Superior Court judge said Thursday. The violations could result in millions in fines for the Facebook parent.
A month ago, Judge Douglass North ruled against the giant in a legal battle against state Attorney General Bob Ferguson. Meta argued Washington's campaign finance disclosure laws were too burdensome and tried to gut the 50-year-old law.
North's order on Thursday said the company had intentionally violated the law 822 times by failing to make the mandated disclosures. The voter-passed Fair Campaign Practices Act requires companies that run political ads to maintain financial records and release them to the public in a timely manner. The ad cost, the sponsor and paying advertiser must all be available through public records requests.
Meta's fine hasn't been determined yet, but the violations carry a possible $10,000 fine each. If a judge rules the violation intentional, that penalty could triple, potentially opening up Meta to a fine of almost $24.7 million.
https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2022/10/09/king-county-meta-washington-campaign-finance-laws.html
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