October 21, 2026 – A New Mexico judge has ordered Meta, the parent company of Facebook, to pay $25 billion in civil penalties after a jury found the company responsible for millions of violations of state consumer protection laws.
The ruling follows a lawsuit connected to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which personal information from up to 87 million Facebook users was collected through a third-party application without their consent.
A Santa Fe jury found Meta responsible for 43,899,725 violations of New Mexico’s Unfair Practices Act following a two-week trial. Jurors concluded that 26 of 29 statements made by Facebook and its executives were misleading or deceptive.
The statements concerned how Facebook collected, protected and shared personal data, as well as its handling of misinformation and hate speech.
New Mexico initially requested between $35 billion and $40 billion in penalties. However, Judge Francis J. Mathew issued a final penalty of $25 billion on October 21, 2026.
The state plans to direct the money recovered from the judgment towards its public education system, helping fund future educational initiatives.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez described the ruling as an important step towards holding major technology companies accountable for misleading consumers.
Meta has announced plans to appeal the decision, arguing that the penalty is excessive and that the state’s approach could make it difficult for businesses to operate in New Mexico.
The company maintains that it has taken steps to improve privacy protections and ensure the safety of its platforms.
The judgment represents one of the largest financial penalties imposed against a technology company in a US state consumer protection case. Its final outcome will depend on the appeals process.
