A New Mexico court has ordered Meta to pay $25 billion after finding that Facebook repeatedly misled users about the protection of their personal information. The ruling, issued on October 21, 2026, represents one of the largest corporate financial penalties in US history and follows years of legal disputes surrounding the company’s privacy practices.
The case originated from the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which became public in 2018. The political consulting firm obtained information associated with as many as 87 million Facebook users through a third-party application, raising questions about how the platform allowed outside developers to access personal data.
New Mexico filed its lawsuit in 2021, accusing Facebook of making deceptive statements about user privacy, third-party data access, and its handling of harmful content. State prosecutors argued that the company continued reassuring users about its safeguards despite knowing that its systems and enforcement practices did not fully support those promises.
In September 2026, a Santa Fe jury determined that 26 statements made by Meta and its leadership were misleading. The jury identified 43,899,725 violations of New Mexico’s Unfair Practices Act, which permits financial penalties of up to $5,000 for each violation.
Applying the maximum statutory penalty would have resulted in a judgment exceeding $219 billion. However, District Judge Francis Mathew reduced the amount to $25 billion while concluding that the repeated and deliberate nature of the violations justified substantial financial consequences.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez welcomed the decision, describing it as an important victory for consumer protection. His office argued that large technology companies must face consequences when they misrepresent how personal information is collected, shared, and protected.
Meta strongly disputes the judgment and intends to appeal. The company’s chief legal officer, C.J. Mahoney, argued that the decision threatens businesses operating in New Mexico and improperly interferes with online speech. Meta previously maintained that penalties exceeding $3.45 billion would be unconstitutional.