Meta Ordered to Pay $25 Billion in New Mexico Case
Source reports published 22 Oct 2026, 5:08 am – 5:27 am AEST
A New Mexico jury found Meta liable for deceiving users regarding data privacy and content moderation. The state was awarded a $25 billion civil penalty, which is expected to be directed towards the state’s education fund.
What happened
- A jury in Santa Fe, New Mexico, ruled that Meta Platforms violated the state’s consumer protection laws over 43 million times due to deceptive statements about its handling of hate speech and user data.
- Judge Francis Mathew ordered Meta to pay a $25 billion civil penalty.
- The ruling stems from the 2016 Cambridge Analytica scandal, where data from 87 million Facebook profiles was harvested and used for targeted advertising.
- New Mexico argued that Meta misled the state’s population of 2.1 million people about its privacy practices and allowed the spread of misinformation.
- Meta’s lawyers contended that the state failed to demonstrate actual harm to users.
- Attorney General Raul Torrez stated that the outcome sends an "unambiguous message" to Silicon Valley.
- The funds awarded are expected to be allocated to New Mexico’s education system, potentially funding school construction for the next century, pending appeals.
Original reporting
- Deutsche Welle: Meta ordered to pay $25 billion in Cambridge Analytica case
2026-10-21T19:27:24.281000+00:00 - South China Morning Post: Meta to pay New Mexico a historic US$25 billion in Cambridge Analytica Facebook case
2026-10-21T19:08:19+00:00