New Mexico District Judge Francis Mathew has ordered Meta Platforms to pay $25 billion in civil penalties to the state after a court ruled that Facebook misled users about how it handled their personal information and protected their privacy.
The Oct. 21 ruling followed a September jury verdict that found nearly 44 million violations of the state’s Unfair Practices Act in a lawsuit filed by the state in 2021. The penalty ranks among the largest financial penalties imposed on a company in U.S. history, although the amount could be a fraction of Meta’s financial resources. The case stems from the Cambridge Analytica scandal that came to light in 2018.
The scandal raised concerns about the misuse of Facebook users’ personal data for political purposes. The political consulting firm obtained information from as many as 87 million Facebook users through a third-party personality quiz app called “thisisyourdigitallife.” The data was used for political profiling and targeted advertising during the 2016 presidential election campaign.
READ: Meta to release new AI model’s weights as Zuckerberg doubles down on open source (August 10, 2026)
“Facebook’s wrongdoing – over the course of years and systematically broadcast to the public – goes to the heart of Facebook’s core business practices,” Judge Mathew wrote in his order.
The ruling also addressed the company’s public statements about content moderation, misinformation and hate speech. Under state law, the maximum penalty of $5,000 for each violation could have resulted in a total of approximately $219.5 billion. However, the judge reduced the penalty to $25 billion.
New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez welcomed the judgment, describing it as a landmark victory for consumers. He said the ruling “should be a signal, an unambiguous message, to Silicon Valley.”
Meta Platforms plans to appeal the verdict. C.J. Mahoney, the company’s chief legal officer, said in a statement that the lawsuit sought to “impose a tax on speech to enforce new rules for what people can say online.”
“We are confident that we will prevail on appeal. In the meantime, Meta will continue to build a safe and free platform to connect millions of Americans, grow small businesses, and help the country maintain its competitive edge,” Mahoney said.
READ: Meta apologizes over temporary Modi post restriction (August 5, 2026)
“This ruling, and the Attorney General’s approach to this enforcement, makes it all but impossible to do business in the state of New Mexico,” he added.
Meta also agreed to pay $725 million in a 2022 settlement to resolve a class-action lawsuit related to the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
In a separate case involving alleged harm to teenagers, a jury in March ordered Meta to pay $375 million in penalties. In August, the court ordered the company to pay an additional $567 million into a fund intended to address mental health harms among teenagers who use its platforms. The judge also ordered changes to Facebook and Instagram to better protect children’s well-being.
Meta has appealed the decisions, disputing the court’s findings. The case remains ongoing. The company is also facing multiple similar lawsuits alongside other social media companies, including Snap Inc. and Google.