Privacy
Meta ordered to pay $25 billion for misleading users on data privacy
A New Mexico court has ordered Meta to pay $25 billion after a jury found the company misled users about data privacy in the Cambridge Analytica case. The penalty covers over 43 million violations of state law.
Ross GrantUpdated 3 min read
The short version
Meta, the company behind Facebook, has been ordered by a New Mexico court to pay $25 billion. The court found that Meta misled people in New Mexico about how their data was used and protected, especially during the Cambridge Analytica scandal. This case is about how Facebook allowed a third-party app to collect personal data from millions without their consent. Meta says it will appeal the ruling.
By the numbers
- $25 billionPenalty ordered by New Mexico courtCNBC, DW, NBC News, The Hacker News
- 43 millionViolations of New Mexico law found by the juryThe Hacker News, CNBC
- $219 billionInitial penalty calculated before reductionCNBC, NBC News
- 2.1 millionEstimated population of New Mexico affectedDW
What happened?
A New Mexico court ordered Meta to pay $25 billion after a jury found the company misled users about data privacy in the Cambridge Analytica case. The penalty covers over 43 million violations of state law. The case stems from Facebook's handling of user data and misleading statements about privacy and content moderation. Meta plans to appeal the decision.
Who is affected
The case centres on Facebook users in New Mexico, a state with around 2.1 million people. The jury found Meta (the parent company of Facebook) responsible for over 43 million violations of New Mexico's unfair practices law, meaning many residents were affected multiple times. The violations relate to how Meta handled user data and what it told people about privacy and content moderation on its platform.
What was taken
The court case links back to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which began in 2016. A third-party app, a personality quiz called "thisisyourdigitallife", collected data from about 300,000 Facebook users. However, because of Facebook's data-sharing policies at the time, the app also accessed information from the friends of those users. In total, data from up to 87 million Facebook profiles was harvested without consent. This data was later sold to Cambridge Analytica, a political consulting firm, which used it for targeted political advertising, including during Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign [DW (opens in a new tab)][NBC News (opens in a new tab)].
Investigations and fines
After the Cambridge Analytica scandal came to light, most US states settled with Meta for a total of $18 billion in August 2026. New Mexico chose not to settle and instead took the case to trial. The jury found Meta had misled users about who could access their data and how the company moderated harmful content. The court initially calculated a penalty of over $219 billion, but the judge reduced it to $25 billion. This is one of the largest penalties ever imposed on a technology company for privacy violations. The money is legally due to go to New Mexico's education fund, but Meta has said it will appeal the decision, so the funds may be tied up for some time [CNBC (opens in a new tab)][DW (opens in a new tab)].
The response
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez said the ruling sends a clear message that large technology companies are not above the law. Judge Francis Mathew wrote that Meta's violations were "willful" and repeated, and that Facebook had not conducted the "comprehensive investigation" it promised after the original scandal. Meta's chief legal officer, C.J. Mahoney, criticised the penalty as excessive and said the company is confident it will win on appeal. He argued that the lawsuit seeks to impose a "tax on speech" and makes it hard to do business in New Mexico [CNBC (opens in a new tab)].
Has this happened before?
Meta has faced several major penalties over the Cambridge Analytica incident. In 2019, the US Federal Trade Commission fined the company $5 billion. In December 2022, Meta agreed to pay $725 million to settle a class-action lawsuit over improper data sharing. The $25 billion New Mexico penalty is the largest single-state verdict so far [The Hacker News (opens in a new tab)].
Why it matters
This is one of the largest penalties ever imposed on a tech company for privacy violations. The case highlights the legal risks for companies that mislead users about data privacy and could set a precedent for future actions against large platforms.
Key points
- Meta was ordered to pay $25 billion for privacy violations in New Mexico.
- The case relates to the Cambridge Analytica data scandal and misleading statements.
- Over 43 million violations of state law were found by the jury.
- Meta plans to appeal the decision, so the penalty may not be paid soon.
- This is the largest single-state penalty for a tech company over privacy issues.
Sources
CNBC
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DW
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NBC News
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The Hacker News
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