A major legal setback has intensified scrutiny of Meta’s data privacy practices after a New Mexico judge ordered the company to pay $25 billion (roughly Rs. 2,36,993 crore). The decision followed a jury verdict that found Meta had misled consumers about how their personal data was handled.
The case stems from allegations linked to Cambridge Analytica, a now-defunct political consulting firm that used Facebook users’ data for voter profiling and targeting. The firm reportedly obtained information from as many as 87 million users through a third-party app without their consent.
Judge Francis Mathew said the company’s conduct had continued for years and affected its core business practices. Although he found that state law could justify a penalty exceeding $219 billion, he reduced the amount to $25 billion.
Meta’s chief legal officer, CJ Mahoney, said the company expects to win on appeal. “This ruling, and the Attorney General’s approach to this enforcement, makes it all but impossible to do business in the state of New Mexico,” Mahoney said. “At its core, this lawsuit seeks to impose a tax on speech to enforce new rules for what people can say online.”
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez called the penalty one of the largest financial penalties imposed on a US corporation. “It has been a long time coming holding Big Tech accountable,” Torrez said, adding that the ruling sent a warning to technology companies.
The state filed the lawsuit in 2021, accusing Meta of misleading users about data access and its handling of hate speech and misinformation. A jury found 26 misleading statements and more than 43 million alleged violations of state consumer protection laws.
Meta argued that it does not sell user data and that the state had not proved consumers were misled. It had asked the court to cap the penalty at $3.45 billion, while the state sought $35 billion to $40 billion.
Meta previously paid a $5 billion penalty to the US Federal Trade Commission in 2019 over the Cambridge Analytica scandal. 6 other states later settled related claims for $459.2 million as part of a wider $17.1 billion multistate settlement.
The company also faces thousands of lawsuits over social media’s impact on teen mental health. Earlier this year, New Mexico secured $942 million in 2 trials involving claims about child safety and misleading platform practices. Analysts expect Meta to appeal the latest ruling, potentially extending the legal battle.
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