Meta Ordered to Pay $25 Billion in Historic New Mexico Privacy Lawsuit
A judge orders Meta to pay New Mexico $25 billion following a landmark jury verdict finding the tech giant liable for deceiving Facebook users about data pri...
POLICY WIRE — Albuquerque, United States — A state judge on Wednesday ordered Meta to pay New Mexico a staggering $25 billion penalty following a jury verdict that found the tech giant liable for systematically deceiving users regarding their privacy on Facebook.
State District Court Judge Francis J. Mathew stated in his ruling that Facebook executives consistently misled the public and that the deception was entirely intentional. He highlighted that promises made to platform users regarding data control were completely false.
In September, jurors concluded that Meta committed over 43 million violations of New Mexico consumer protection statutes by issuing misleading statements about personal data handling. The litigation originated after political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica harvested user data to generate targeted political advertisements during the 2016 election cycle.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez emphasized during a news conference that the massive financial penalty serves as a stern warning to the broader technology sector. He described the judgment as an unambiguous message signaling that states will hold major corporations accountable.
Meanwhile, Meta representatives strongly criticized the ruling and the enforcement strategy pursued by the attorney general’s office. C.J. Mahoney, the company’s chief legal officer, argued that the lawsuit attempts to impose a financial toll on online speech and expressed absolute confidence that the corporation will prevail on appeal.
Prior to this independent legal action, Meta reached a settlement in August with nearly every other state and territory—excluding New Mexico and Florida—agreeing to pay $18 billion alongside enhanced child-safety protections. New Mexico opted out of that multistate agreement to pursue independent litigation, with state attorneys initially seeking between $35 billion and $40 billion.
Legal experts noted the unprecedented scale of the penalty, which amounts to roughly $12,000 for every resident of New Mexico. Under the state constitution, consumer protection fines are allocated directly toward public education funding, though the funds remain delayed pending upcoming appeals.
Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)
