New Mexico Court Slaps Meta with $25 B Penalty Over Data‑Privacy Violations

A New Mexico court ordered Meta to pay a $25 billion penalty for violating the state’s unfair practices act. The penalty stems from a data‑privacy case that traces back to the company’s 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal. A Santa Fe jury in September found the social‑media giant liable for misleading residents about how it collects and protects user data and for allowing harmful content to spread. The jury counted more than 43 million separate violations, each carrying a possible civil fine of up to $5,000. While the jury’s award totalled $219.5 billion, the presiding judge reduced the amount to $25 billion in a filing on Wednesday. New Mexico’s lawsuit was filed in 2021 by former state Attorney General Hector Balderas and was overseen by current Attorney General Raúl Torrez. Meta had previously settled a nationwide set of Cambridge Analytica‑related privacy suits in August for nearly $17 billion, but New Mexico was not part of that deal, so its case went to trial. In 2022 the company also agreed to pay $725 million to end a class‑action suit linked to the same scandal. Earlier this year a separate New Mexico jury ordered Meta to pay $375 million for child‑safety violations, and a judge later added $567 million to an abatement fund. Meta has said it disagrees with the latest ruling and plans to appeal.

Context

State enforcement actions like this one show how U.S. jurisdictions are using unfair‑practice laws to hold tech firms accountable for data‑handling practices. The penalty adds to a series of settlements that have cost Meta billions since the Cambridge Analytica revelations.