Politics
New Mexico court sets $25 billion penalty for Meta over user data practices
A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay the state $25 billion after a jury found more than 43 million violations of consumer-protection law tied to the company’s handling of users’ personal information. Meta plans to appeal the ruling, which grew out of the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
A New Mexico judge has ordered Meta to pay the state $25 billion after a jury found the company repeatedly violated consumer-protection laws by misleading users about privacy and allowing third-party app developers access to personal information.
State District Judge Francis J. Mathew issued the order Oct. 21, 2026, following a jury verdict in a Santa Fe state court. The jury found more than 43 million violations, according to the court’s findings.
The case stems from revelations that Cambridge Analytica, a political consulting and data firm connected to President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, improperly obtained information on tens of millions of Facebook users and used it to target voters. New Mexico sued Meta, Facebook’s parent company, in 2021.
Mathew wrote that the harm was “difficult to overstate” and struck at the core of Facebook’s business model. He cited what he described as repeated misrepresentations about Meta’s data practices, including the company’s promise to conduct a thorough investigation after the Cambridge Analytica revelations became public in 2018.
The $25 billion penalty ranks among the largest financial sanctions sought against a technology company. Meta’s chief legal officer said the company intends to appeal, meaning the ruling may face further court review.
The case places renewed focus on how social media companies collect and share personal data, and on the ability of state consumer-protection laws to hold major technology firms accountable for their practices.