A New Mexico judge has ordered Meta to pay $25 billion for violating state consumer protection laws by misleading users about its data privacy practices. The ruling, issued Wednesday by Judge Francis J. Mathew of the District Court in Santa Fe, follows a jury verdict earlier this month that found Meta liable for more than 43 million violations related to deceptive statements about user data handling on Facebook. The penalty is one of the largest ever imposed on a tech company.
The lawsuit stems from the 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which the political consulting firm obtained private Facebook data without users' consent to target American voters during the 2016 election cycle. New Mexico’s case argued that Meta’s executives repeatedly misled the public regarding the protection of their personal information. During the two-week trial last month, prosecutors contrasted public comments made by CEO Mark Zuckerberg and former Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg with internal communications presented as evidence showing intent to deceive. Although Zuckerberg did not testify at trial, a video deposition was shown to the jury. Ultimately, jurors found that 26 of 29 contested statements by Meta were deceptive or unfair.
Judge Mathew noted the “extraordinary number of willful violations” and the sustained nature of the misconduct as justification for the substantial penalty. The judge initially assessed damages at $219 billion before reducing the final amount to $25 billion—an amount New Mexico plans to allocate to a public education fund under the state constitution. The fine could take years to be collected due to Meta’s intention to appeal.
This ruling adds to a series of legal setbacks for Meta related to its platforms’ impact on users, particularly minors. Earlier this year, in a separate New Mexico case focused on the harm posed to young users by addictive social media features, Meta was ordered to pay hundreds of millions in damages. In August, Meta reached a $17.1 billion nationwide settlement with 47 states, the District of Columbia, and territories to resolve claims tied to child safety on Facebook and Instagram. However, New Mexico and Florida did not join that settlement and pursued separate litigation.
Meta’s chief legal officer, C.J. Mahoney, characterized the New Mexico lawsuit as an attempt to impose new restrictions on online speech through financial penalties, stating the company plans to appeal and “is confident we will prevail.”
Legal experts have described the penalty as unprecedented in scale. Some observers suggest that, absent comprehensive federal regulation, states are increasingly relying on consumer protection laws to hold technology companies accountable for privacy violations and broader social harms. New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez emphasized that the ruling demonstrates that even the largest corporations can be held responsible under the law.