WELCOME TO ISSUE 01
This is the first issue of DARA The Week. Every Saturday, we bring you the stories about your data that matter most: who uses it, who earns from it, and what you can do about it. Five minutes, no jargon.
DARA Redaksjonen
DARA uses AI to gather stories and write drafts. Every story is read, checked against its sources and approved by the editors before it is published.
IN THIS ISSUE
Cover story: the price of tapping “accept”
Notable numbers
Also this week: what you were worth to Meta, Samsung and your pulse, your DNA in a bankruptcy
Overheard
Try this week
Your turn
COVER STORY
The price of tapping “accept”: 25 billion dollars
The promise you got when you tapped “accept” on Facebook now has a price tag.
In September, a jury in Santa Fe found that Meta had misled users in New Mexico, among other things about who could access their data. The jury found 26 of 29 statements misleading. On 21 October, Judge Francis Mathew set the penalty at 25 billion dollars.
The case began after the Cambridge Analytica scandal, when data from up to 87 million Facebook users was harvested through a third-party app. State law allows up to 5,000 dollars per violation, and the jury counted over 43 million. The money goes to New Mexico’s schools.
Meta says it does not sell user data and plans to appeal. In 2019, the US Federal Trade Commission fined Meta 5 billion dollars. This penalty is five times larger, from a single state.
When broken privacy promises cost billions, perhaps they will be kept. What have the apps on your phone promised you?
Sources: News From The States, Datalawgy.
ALSO THIS WEEK
What were you worth to Meta last year?
About 57 dollars. That is Meta’s own figure for revenue per daily user across Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger in 2025. Alone, you are worth a dinner out. Together, the users are the whole business model. What if we negotiated as a group?
Source: Meta Q4 2025.
Samsung asked for your pulse. Saying no came with a threat
In July, Samsung Health asked for consent to train AI on sleep, heart rate and medical data. If you said no, a warning said your health data would be deleted. After protests, Samsung backed down. A yes under threat is not a real choice.
Source: Malwarebytes.
Your DNA can end up in a bankruptcy
When 23andMe went bankrupt in 2025, customers’ genetic data and spit samples were sold to a nonprofit led by the company’s own cofounder. California objected to the sale but lost in court. Now the state has agreed a 6 million dollar settlement over a 2023 data breach that hit nearly 7 million customers. A court must still approve it. Customers can still ask to have their data deleted. Your DNA also says something about your whole family, who never agreed to anything.
Source: California DOJ.
OVERHEARD
“The clearly intentional and systematic nature of Facebook’s repeated misstatements.”
Judge Francis Mathew, in his ruling ordering Meta to pay 25 billion dollars. News From The States
TRY THIS WEEK
Three small checks, five minutes
Open the ad settings in Facebook or Instagram. Which choice did you make, and do you remember making it?
Check which apps get data from your smartwatch or fitness app.
Have you taken a DNA test? Look up how to delete your data and have the sample destroyed.
YOUR TURN
What would you have charged Meta for your data last year? Answer in the comments.
Know someone who should read this? Send it to one person. See you next Saturday.
All our sources are collected in the DARA Source Library. Cover photo: Todd Jiang / Unsplash.