Breaking news: Meta's $25 billion verdict
Wednesday, October 21, 2026
A New Mexico district judge ordered Meta to pay $25 billion in penalties Wednesday over the Cambridge Analytica scandal, following a September jury verdict that found the company had deceived New Mexicans about its data collection and privacy practices. The jury tallied more than 43 million violations of the state’s unfair practices act — each carrying a potential fine of up to $5,000. New Mexico was excluded from a separate $17 billion national settlement Meta reached in August, which is why the state’s case went to trial.
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Here's what you need to know
SpaceX posted its first quarterly profit as a public company. SpaceX earned $4.4 billion after a $1.1 billion loss in last year's third quarter, while revenue more than doubled to $14.6 billion. Its AI business brought in $7.6 billion, up from $813 million a year earlier, and now outsells Starlink.
OpenAI wants to raise $30 billion before Anthropic goes public. Some investors reportedly see the push as a way to lock up money that might otherwise go into Anthropic's upcoming stock market debut. The round could value OpenAI at more than $1.4 trillion, up from $852 billion in March.
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt owns about 1% of Anthropic. The stake, which he bought for tens of millions of dollars in 2021, could push his net worth to nearly $80 billion if Anthropic goes public at $2 trillion. Anthropic was valued at just $461 million when Schmidt made his first investment.
Amazon plans to hire a record 300,000-plus holiday workers. That's 20% more than last year and the first increase in the company's holiday hiring goal in three years. Starting in January, seasonal workers putting in at least 30 hours a week will get health coverage from their first day.
The latest AI wearables could break some state wiretap laws. Apple's newest Watch and Amazon's Bee devices summarize conversations with or without people's consent, potentially falling afoul of state laws. The companies say they don't save the audio, but some lawyers say that may not matter.
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