Meta Ordered to Pay $942 Million in New Mexico Youth Safety Case
Meta must pay $942 million in a separate New Mexico youth safety case, following a jury liability finding.
Event / Technology
Meta New Mexico Privacy Case
A Santa Fe judge ordered Meta Platforms to pay New Mexico $25 billion after a jury found 26 of 29 of the company's public statements about Facebook users' data privacy misleading under the state's Unfair Practices Act. The judge reduced the award from a calculated statutory maximum of about $219.5 billion. Interest accrues at 15 percent annually until paid, and Meta has said it will appeal. The case stems from the 2021 lawsuit over the Cambridge Analytica scandal and is separate from other New Mexico rulings against Meta, including a youth safety case.
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2026-10-23 to 2026-10-26 · UTC publication dates
Coverage begins 23 Oct, 04:51 UTC
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What happened
Judge orders Meta to pay New Mexico $25 billion over misleading privacy statements
Santa Fe judge Francis J. Mathew ordered Meta Platforms to pay New Mexico $25 billion after a jury found the company violated state consumer protection law through misleading public statements about Facebook users' data privacy and control. The award exceeds the $5 billion fine the Federal Trade Commission imposed on Facebook in 2019 and is the largest penalty imposed on Meta to date.
Judge reduces calculated statutory maximum of roughly $219.5 billion to a $25 billion award
New Mexico's Unfair Practices Act sets a maximum penalty of $5,000 per willful violation. The judge calculated the statutory maximum at roughly $219.5 billion and reduced the award to $25 billion.
Court finds Facebook's deception of users was intentional
The court ruling states that Facebook's deception was intentional and that executives consistently misled users about how the platform worked. The judge wrote that Facebook's promise to users that they controlled their data was false.
Meta reaches $18 billion settlement with nearly all states and territories except New Mexico and Florida
Meta reached a settlement with nearly all US states and territories, excluding New Mexico and Florida, to pay $18 billion and add child-safety measures to Facebook and Instagram. The settlement ended a multistate trial over teen social media addiction.
Meta has a market value of $1.8 trillion and shares rose 2 percent after the ruling announcement
Meta, headquartered in Menlo Park, California, has a market value of $1.8 trillion and brought in more than $200 billion in revenue in the previous year. Company shares traded 2 percent higher after the ruling was announced.
Meta states it will appeal the $25 billion penalty
Meta stated it will appeal the penalty. Chief legal officer C.J. Mahoney said the company is confident it will prevail on appeal and that the ruling and the attorney general's enforcement approach make it all but impossible to do business in New Mexico.
Interest on the $25 billion award accrues at 15 percent annually until paid
Under the order, interest on the $25 billion penalty accrues at 15 percent per year until the amount is paid.
New Mexico jury finds 26 of 29 Facebook public statements misleading
On Sept. 25, a New Mexico jury found 26 of 29 public statements by Facebook to be misleading. The jury treated each statement as reaching large numbers of New Mexico Facebook users, producing nearly 43.9 million violations of the state's consumer protection law.
Meta is ordered to pay $942 million total in a separate New Mexico youth safety case
On Aug. 6, a New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay an additional $567 million into a fund for youth mental-health remedies and imposed court-supervised changes to Facebook and Instagram. Together with a $375 million civil penalty imposed by a jury in March, the total financial exposure in that case is $942 million.
New Mexico filed its lawsuit against Facebook in 2021
New Mexico filed the lawsuit against Facebook, now Meta, in 2021. The state alleged the company systematically misled the public and New Mexico users about how it handled personal data and allowed third-party apps access to user information.
Cambridge Analytica obtained data from as many as 87 million Facebook users
The British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica obtained personal information from as many as 87 million Facebook users through a third-party personality quiz. The firm used the data for political profiling and targeted advertising, including during the 2016 US election season.
Jury rejects claims that Facebook made false statements about removing harmful content
In the New Mexico case, jurors rejected assertions that Facebook made false claims about removing harmful content, including misinformation about the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jury finds Meta liable for $375 million in civil penalties in a youth safety case
In a separate New Mexico case involving the safety of young users, a jury imposed $375 million in civil penalties on Meta in March.
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2 alternative perspectives
Judge sets $25 billion penalty against Meta over misleading statements
A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $25 billion over misleading Facebook privacy statements, and Meta plans to appeal.