Meta hit with $25 billion penalty over Facebook privacy violations

# Meta Ordered to Pay $25 Billion in New Mexico Privacy Lawsuit

A New Mexico judge has ordered Meta Platforms to pay $25 billion in civil penalties after a court found that Facebook misled users about its handling of personal information and its efforts to protect their privacy.

The Oct. 21 ruling by District Judge Francis Mathew followed a September jury verdict that found nearly 44 million violations of the state’s Unfair Practices Act. The lawsuit was filed by New Mexico in 2021, and the penalty ranks among the largest financial sanctions imposed on a company in U.S. history. Although the amount is substantial, it represents only a portion of Meta’s financial resources.

The case is rooted in the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which came to light in 2018 and raised widespread concerns about how Facebook users’ personal data could be collected and used for political purposes.

The political consulting firm obtained information from as many as 87 million Facebook users through a third-party personality quiz application called “thisisyourdigitallife.” The data was subsequently used for political profiling and targeted advertising during the 2016 U.S. presidential election campaign.

“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 Mathew wrote in his order.

The ruling also examined Facebook’s public statements and practices concerning content moderation, misinformation and hate speech. Under New Mexico law, the maximum penalty of $5,000 per violation could have produced a total of approximately $219.5 billion. The judge, however, reduced the final penalty to $25 billion.

New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez welcomed the judgment, describing it as a landmark victory for consumers. He said the ruling “should be a signal, an unambiguous message, to Silicon Valley.”

Meta has said it will appeal the verdict. C.J. Mahoney, the company’s chief legal officer, criticized the state’s legal approach, arguing that the lawsuit sought to “impose a tax on speech to enforce new rules for what people can say online.”

“We are confident that we will prevail on appeal. In the meantime, Meta will continue to build a safe and free platform to connect millions of Americans, grow small businesses, and help the country maintain its competitive edge,” Mahoney said.

Mahoney also argued that the ruling and the attorney general’s enforcement approach made it “all but impossible to do business in the state of New Mexico.”

The case adds to Meta’s continuing legal challenges over privacy, platform safety and the effects of social media. In 2022, the company agreed to pay $725 million to settle a class-action lawsuit related to the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

Meta has also faced separate litigation over alleged harm to teenagers who use its platforms. In March, a jury ordered the company to pay $375 million in penalties in a case involving claims related to young users. In August, the court ordered Meta to contribute an additional $567 million to a fund intended to address mental health harms among teenagers using its platforms. The judge also ordered changes to Facebook and Instagram aimed at better protecting children’s well-being.

Meta has appealed those decisions and disputes the courts’ findings. The litigation remains ongoing, while the company and other social media platforms, including Snap Inc. and Google, continue to face similar lawsuits concerning user safety and alleged harms associated with their services.

The New Mexico judgment marks a significant development in the legal scrutiny of major technology companies, particularly over their responsibility to protect personal data and communicate transparently with users. Meta’s planned appeal means the dispute is likely to continue as the courts consider the company’s challenges to the verdict and penalty.