Meta Ordered to Pay $25 Billion After Court Finds 43 Million Privacy Violations

thehackernews.com Oct 22, 2026

Meta Ordered to Pay $25 Billion After Court Finds 43 Million Privacy Violations

Curated by Shubham · TechCapsules · Oct 22, 2026

AI-summarised brief · reviewed before publication

A New Mexico district court ordered Meta to pay $25 billion in penalties after finding the company violated the state’s unfair practices law in more than 43 million instances. Judge Francis J. Mathew ruled that Meta’s promises that users controlled their data were false, linking the violations to the 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal in which a personality‑quiz app harvested data from millions of Facebook users and their friends. The case, filed in 2021, follows earlier settlements, including a $725 million class‑action payout and a $5 billion FTC fine. Meta had previously banned the offending app in 2015 and sought deletion of the data. Chief legal officer C.J. Mahoney said Meta will appeal the judgment.

💡 Why It Matters

· The unprecedented $25 billion sanction could reshape corporate liability for data privacy, forcing tech firms to overhaul consent mechanisms and transparency practices.

Read full article on thehackernews.com

Final Payday: Aces High playtest on Meta Quest and Steam comes with…

Payday: Aces High, the franchise’s first full‑VR title, enters its final public playtest from October 19‑26 on Meta Quest and Steam. Participants who join this week receive an exclusive Kitty mask, unavailable elsewhere. The full game launches on November 5 across Meta Quest, SteamVR and Steam Deck for $24.99, featuring seven initial missions, co‑op heists for up to four players, and a new storyline with protagonists called The Aces. Gameplay emphasizes stealth, rewarding players with in‑game cash to unlock weapons, traps, masks and abilities. The playtest adds a second mission not seen in the earlier trial, giving testers extra experience before the official release.

💡 The free mask creates a limited‑time incentive that drives early adoption and community buzz ahead of a major VR franchise debut.

9to5mac.com · Oct 20

Sensor Tower: Meta’s Muse app tops 10 million US downloads in 40…

Meta’s Muse AI assistant became the 12th app to reach 10 million U.S. downloads within 40 days, Sensor Tower reports. After a heavy ad push that kept Muse atop the App Store for 12 days, the app hit 5 million downloads and now sits second in rankings. Muse records a 30 % retention rate after seven days and 23 % after fourteen, beating ChatGPT, Claude and Grok, which linger near 19 % and 16 %. The service accounts for 39 % of Meta’s U.S. ad spend this month, up from 23 % in September, and climbed to 21st among U.S. brands by ad impressions. Privacy researchers flagged that shared conversations could expose data, leading Meta to suspend the sharing feature pending investigation, across user segments in the United States.

💡 Muse’s rapid adoption and superior retention demonstrate Meta’s ability to translate ad spend into lasting AI‑assistant engagement, reshaping user loyalty dynamics in the crowded generative‑AI market.

9to5mac.com · Oct 20

WhatsApp may soon let iPhone users open any link in an in-app…

WhatsApp is preparing to let iPhone users open any hyperlink within the app, expanding a limited in‑app browser that previously supported only select business sites. The change was first spotted by WABetaInfo in the TestFlight build, which shows a new “In‑app browser” toggle under Settings > Chats. When enabled, links open inside WhatsApp, while a menu still offers to launch the default Safari browser. The settings provide controls to clear cookies, cache and other browsing data stored by the in‑app browser. Although the feature is not yet in a beta, screenshots suggest users will receive a bottom sheet explaining the option and can revert to the default browser at any time. WhatsApp states it cannot track which links are opened.

💡 By handling links inside WhatsApp, the app reduces reliance on Safari, giving Meta tighter control over user experience and data privacy within chats.

techcrunch.com · Oct 17

Meta removes language that raised scraping and AI training concerns

Meta has revised its commercial terms of use, initially stating that it could “use any content from a business account’s domains, web pages, or URLs to provide, develop, improve, research, train, and maintain the integrity of” its products and services. Legal analysts described the clause as a sweeping right to scrape publisher sites and feed the material into Meta’s artificial‑intelligence training pipelines. The language sparked concern after the company’s recent victory in a copyright lawsuit and amid ongoing litigation targeting AI firms. Meta later issued a statement saying the provision applied only to its advertising and business tools and did not alter its web‑crawling practices. Following criticism, the company removed the wording from the terms, as reported by The Verge.

💡 The rollback signals Meta’s attempt to quell publisher backlash and avoid further legal challenges over AI data harvesting.

9to5google.com · Oct 15

Meta says it has fixed an issue that let its Ray-Ban smart…

Meta announced a fix for its Ray‑Ban Meta smart glasses, which were unexpectedly recording audio without user prompts. Users reported that the glasses triggered Meta AI and began voice recording even when the “Hey Meta” wake word was not spoken or enabled. The devices still alert users with an LED light, but the unprompted recordings raised privacy concerns. Meta confirmed the issue is resolved and released an update that disables the camera if the LED privacy light is tampered with. Users can now manage, review, and delete voice logs in settings.

💡 The glitch exposed a critical vulnerability in consumer wearable privacy controls, prompting scrutiny of Meta’s data handling practices. Fixing it restores user trust and sets a precedent for stricter oversight of smart device recording features.

9to5google.com · Oct 15

You can now join a WhatsApp call without an account

WhatsApp announced a new feature that lets anyone join a voice or video call without a WhatsApp account. Users create a call link in the Calls tab, share it, and recipients open the URL in a web browser, enter a name and request to join. The host admits them, and the call supports up to 32 participants, preserving end‑to‑end encryption and core tools such as hand‑raising and screen sharing. Only account holders can generate links, but guests enjoy the same free, unlimited‑duration experience as regular users. WhatsApp says the links will soon integrate with Google Calendar and Outlook via a plugin, streamlining scheduling for work, school and personal meetings. The rollout was detailed in a blog post today globally now.

💡 It removes the platform barrier, letting non‑users tap into WhatsApp’s encrypted calling ecosystem with a single click.