Meta Ordered to Pay New Mexico $25 Billion After Privacy Verdict

New Mexico has secured a $25 billion civil-penalty order against Meta, the largest penalty in the company’s history, after a jury found nearly 44 million consumer protection violations tied to Facebook user data.

New Mexico District Court Judge Francis J. Matthew ordered the payment Wednesday under the state’s Unfair Practices Act. The September verdict counted nearly 44 million violations. Matthew applied the $5,000 maximum per violation, then reduced the total from more than $219 billion to $25 billion. Interest will accrue at 15% annually until the penalty is paid.

The findings relate to the Cambridge Analytica scandal. A personality quiz collected data from about 87 million Facebook profiles, which went to a political consulting firm for targeted election ads in 2016. New Mexico’s constitution directs consumer protection fines to education spending.

Meta has said it plans to appeal the September verdict and argued that the state did not show misleading privacy claims or harm to New Mexico residents. The judge is awaiting further filings before ruling on the state’s request for an injunction, a court order restricting conduct.