Meta ordered to pay $25 billion penalty to New Mexico in data privacy case

New Mexico has accused Meta of lying to Facebook users in the state about who had access to their data and its handling of hate speech and misinformation posted on the platform. | REUTERS

Oct 22, 2026

A judge in New Mexico ordered Meta Platforms on Wednesday to pay the state $25 billion after a jury found the company had misled consumers about the privacy of their data, hitting the company with one of the largest financial penalties in U.S. history.

The ruling came in a case stemming from allegations that Cambridge Analytica, a British political consulting firm involved in U.S. President Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, obtained data from millions of Facebook users without their consent. New Mexico had sued Meta, accusing it of lying to Facebook users in New Mexico about who had access to their data.

“Facebook’s wrongdoing — over the course of years and systematically broadcast to the public — goes to the heart of Facebook’s core business practices,” Judge Francis Mathew wrote in his order, which came more than three weeks after the verdict.

In a time of both misinformation and too much information,
quality journalism is more crucial than ever.
By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.

SUBSCRIBE NOW