Meta was ordered to pay $25 billion in penalties by a New Mexico court on Wednesday following a jury finding in September that the social media company misled state citizens about how it safeguards user data and prevents harmful content on its platforms.
According to the court filing, the jury found Meta liable for more than 43 million violations of the state’s unfair practices act, with each violation carrying a potential civil penalty of up to $5,000. While New Mexico initially sought $219.5 billion in damages based on the violation count, New Mexico District Court Judge Francis Mathew reduced the penalty to $25 billion. The judge also ordered that interest accrue at 15% annually until the fine is paid in full.
Judge Mathew cited “the extraordinary number of willful violations found by the jury, the duration and repetition of the conduct, the breadth of subjects on which violations occurred, the involvement of senior Facebook leadership, the size of New Mexico audiences reached, and the clear intentional and systematic nature of Facebook’s repeated misstatements” as justification for the penalty. The judge also noted that “Facebook did not conduct the comprehensive investigation that it promised” following the Cambridge Analytica revelations, citing pressure from senior executives to keep costs down and inadequate investigative techniques.
Meta’s chief legal officer C.J. Mahoney said the company is “confident” it will “prevail on appeal,” characterizing the ruling as making it “all but impossible to do business in the state of New Mexico.”
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez stated the penalty “demonstrates that those violations carry real consequences” for technology companies. The state’s case proceeded to trial after New Mexico declined to join an August settlement involving a coalition of state attorneys general related to separate child safety and mental health concerns, which required Meta to pay nearly $17 billion.
The penalty stems from the Cambridge Analytica scandal that emerged in 2018, when the political consulting firm improperly accessed information of 87 million users. Meta previously agreed to pay $725 million to settle a class action lawsuit related to the scandal. Torrez also oversaw a separate New Mexico trial that resulted in a March jury ruling requiring Meta to pay $375 million for child safety violations, with an additional $567 million ordered into an abatement fund.
Key facts
- A New Mexico jury found Meta liable for more than 43 million violations of the state’s unfair practices act in September 2026
- The court reduced the $219.5 billion award to $25 billion, with 15% annual interest accruing until paid
- The penalty relates to Meta’s handling of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which the firm improperly accessed 87 million users’ data in 2018
- Judge Mathew found Facebook failed to conduct promised investigations following the scandal and cited inadequate enforcement resources and cost-cutting pressure
- Meta plans to appeal the ruling and stated it is “confident” of success on appeal