New Mexico Judge Orders Meta to Pay $25 Billion in Cambridge Analytica Case

A New Mexico state judge has ordered Meta Platforms to pay a $25 billion civil penalty after a jury found the company misled consumers regarding data privacy practices tied to the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The jury found 26 of 29 statements by Meta leadership misleading, totaling over 43 million violations of state consumer protection laws. Although initial statutory calculations reached $219.5 billion and the state sought up to $40 billion, District Court Judge Francis Joseph Mathew set the penalty at $25 billion. Meta, which had sought a $3.45 billion cap, is expected to appeal.