New Mexico judge orders Meta to pay $25bn over privacy deception

A New Mexico district court judge has ordered Meta to pay $25 billion after finding the company engaged in what he described as "a systematic pattern of deception" over users' control of their data.

Judge Francis Mathew issued the penalty following a jury verdict that Meta violated the state's Unfair Practices Act more than 43 million times. The case centers on Meta's conduct related to the Cambridge Analytica scandal and the company's broader privacy representations to users.

Mathew wrote that Meta's misrepresentations were not isolated incidents but "a coherent strategy designed to mislead the public," language that goes beyond negligence into findings of deliberate conduct.

The $25 billion figure is among the largest civil penalties imposed on a technology company by a state court. Whether New Mexico can collect at that scale, and whether Meta will appeal on constitutional excessive-fines grounds, will determine whether this judgment holds practical weight or becomes an extended appellate dispute.