Pity poor Meta, suffering so in WA

Meta’s legal fight in Washington state over political-ad disclosures centers on whether the company’s obligations are “unduly burdensome,” a claim only three Washington Supreme Court justices supported. The state’s law requires media companies that sell political advertising to disclose records of those ads when asked by the public, reflecting Washington’s transparency approach. The article says Meta admitted it violated the law willfully and repeatedly, then stopped accepting political ads in Washington to avoid disclosure rules. Washington’s Attorney General sued and won summary judgment, and a $35 million penalty was upheld by the state Supreme Court last Thursday. The majority, written by Justice G. Helen Whitener, found the law does not infringe Meta’s First Amendment rights, while other justices dissented over speech burdens.