Meta ordered to pay $25 billion to New Mexico after jury finds company misled consumers about data privacy

On October 21, a New Mexico judge ordered Meta Platforms to pay $25 billion to the state after a jury determined the company had misled consumers regarding data privacy. The ruling came following allegations that a political consulting firm, Cambridge Analytica, obtained data from millions of Facebook users without their consent.

Judge Francis Mathew found Meta's actions to be systematic and damaging to the core of its business practices. Although the initial penalty suggested by the state was over $219 billion, Mathew reduced it to $25 billion. Meta's spokesperson declined to comment on the matter at the time of reporting. The state's attorney general had initiated the lawsuit in 2021 following the revelation that Cambridge Analytica had harvested personal data from up to 87 million Facebook users through a third-party app.

The state accused Meta of deceiving New Mexico residents about data access, hate speech policies, and other internal practices. Jurors found 26 of 29 statements made by Meta leadership misleading, attributing over 43 million violations of New Mexico’s consumer protection laws to the company.