Meta ordered to pay $25B penalty in New Mexico Cambridge Analytica case

A New Mexico court ordered Meta to pay $25 billion over violations tied to the Cambridge Analytica scandal after a Santa Fe jury found the company liable for misleading state residents about its data collection and safeguards. Jurors determined Meta committed more than 43 million violations of the state Unfair Practices Act, each carrying a civil penalty of up to $5,000; a judge noted that the jury’s initial award of about $219.5 billion was reduced to $25 billion. The judge concluded Facebook failed to carry out the comprehensive internal investigation it had promised after the scandal, citing willful, systematic misstatements, involvement of senior leadership, repeated and prolonged conduct, and the large New Mexico audiences affected. Interest on the penalty will accrue at 15% per year until paid.

The suit was filed in 2021 by then-New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas and tried under current AG Raúl Torrez; because New Mexico did not join a separate federal settlement, this case went to trial. Meta has previously settled related matters, including a 2022 $725 million class-action resolution and a near-$17 billion multistate August settlement addressing child safety and mental-health claims, and it faces other New Mexico judgments tied to public-nuisance findings. Meta has said it disagrees with the New Mexico ruling and intends to appeal.