A New Mexico court orders Meta to pay $25B in penalties after a jury found Meta misled residents about its data practices in the Cambridge Analytica scandal (Jonathan Vanian/CNBC)

A New Mexico judge has ordered Meta to pay a staggering $25 billion to the state as a result of the company's alleged role in deceiving users regarding its data privacy practices in the Cambridge Analytica scandal. This is Meta's largest payout to date, according to The New York Times. The decision comes after a two-week trial where a jury found that Meta had committed 43 million violations of New Mexico's consumer protection laws, each carrying a $5,000 penalty.

The case centered around Meta's handling of a third-party app linked to the Cambridge Analytica data breach, as well as its data privacy policies and efforts to combat misinformation on its platform. Cambridge Analytica, originally a British defense contractor specializing in influence operations, collaborated with the Trump campaign during the 2016 presidential election and was implicated in various controversial initiatives.

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez expressed his satisfaction with the ruling, stating that the company may have paid for the construction of schools for the next 100 years. Meta has announced its intention to appeal the decision, arguing that the ruling makes it difficult to conduct business in the state and that the lawsuit seeks to impose a tax on speech.

Meta's Chief Legal Officer, C.J. Mahoney, expressed confidence in prevailing on appeal and maintaining Meta's commitment to providing a safe and free platform for millions of Americans, small businesses, and to help maintain the country's competitive edge.