Meta ordered to pay $25 billion in New Mexico privacy case

Meta has been ordered to pay $25 billion to New Mexico after a jury found that Facebook deceived users about privacy and content-moderation practices in a case linked to the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The company disputes the verdict and has indicated that it will appeal. The case was brought by New Mexico after the state declined to join a broader settlement with other US states.

Prosecutors argued that Facebook misled the state’s more than 2.1 million residents about who could access personal information, how the platform handled misinformation and hate speech, and the company’s wider privacy practices. A jury found in September that Meta had committed more than 43 million violations of New Mexico consumer-protection laws. It concluded that 26 of 29 public statements made by Meta and its leadership on the issues were misleading.

The judge later determined the financial penalty. New Mexico’s lawyers had sought between $35 billion and $40 billion, while Meta’s lawyers argued that any penalty should be capped at $3.45 billion. The judge’s order set the amount at $25 billion.

India Today reported that the order said a penalty exceeding $219 billion could have been warranted under state law before being reduced. The claims relate to the Cambridge Analytica controversy, in which a third-party personality-quiz application collected information connected to roughly 87 million Facebook profiles. The data was obtained by the political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica and used for targeted political advertising, including work connected with Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

Facebook learned in 2015 that the firm had acquired the data but did not disclose the matter publicly until 2018. Meta has rejected the state’s characterisation of its conduct. Its lawyers argued that New Mexico had not shown that users were actually harmed or misled and said the company did not sell users’ data.

France 24 reported that Meta described the judgment as “a tax on speech,” said the ruling would make it nearly impossible to operate in New Mexico and expressed confidence it would prevail on appeal. New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez called the judgment a historic victory and said the money was legally due to be paid into the state’s education fund. The final amount may remain tied up during appeals.

The case is therefore a major judgment against Meta, but not necessarily an immediate payment. The ruling adds to a series of legal challenges facing the company. New Mexico has separately ordered Meta to pay $375 million in civil penalties and an additional $567 million linked to alleged harms to children.

Meta has also reached multistate agreements involving privacy, teenage safety and platform design. The latest case underscores the continuing legal consequences of Facebook’s handling of user data, while its scope and financial effect remain subject to appeal.