Meta Ordered to Pay $25 Billion Over Facebook Privacy Deceptions
A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay a record $25 billion fine after a jury found it misled Facebook users about who could access their personal data, in one of the largest state verdicts against a company in U.S. history.
New Mexico state District Judge Francis Mathew on Wednesday ordered Meta Platforms to pay $25 billion — the largest fine ever imposed on the company and, according to Attorney General Raul Torrez, one of the largest state verdicts against any company in U.S. history. The ruling followed a jury finding that Meta was responsible for more than 43 million violations of New Mexico's consumer protection laws. Jurors concluded that 26 of 29 statements made by Meta leadership about privacy and content moderation were misleading. Judge Mathew stated: "Facebook promised users that they controlled their data. This was false." The lawsuit, filed in 2021, stemmed partly from the Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which the personal data of approximately 87 million Facebook users was harvested for targeted political advertising. The $25 billion award far exceeds the $5 billion FTC fine against Facebook in 2019, and follows additional recent penalties of $375 million (issued in March) and a later order requiring a further $567 million payment into a state fund for teen mental health. Meta plans to appeal. Funds awarded will support New Mexico's education system.
