Meta ordered to pay $25 billion to New Mexico over Cambridge Analytica-linked privacy claims

A New Mexico judge has ordered Meta to pay $25 billion to the state for deceiving residents about its data privacy practices, TechCrunch reports, describing it as the company's biggest payout yet in the long-running fallout from the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The order was issued on Wednesday, according to a report from The New York Times.

What the jury found

The award follows a two-week trial in which a New Mexico jury examined Meta's conduct. According to The New York Times, the jury found that the company behind Facebook and Instagram committed 43 million violations of the state's consumer protection laws, each carrying a $5,000 penalty.

The reported figures do not obviously reconcile with the final amount — 43 million violations at $5,000 each would imply a far larger sum — and the coverage does not explain how the $25 billion award was calculated.

The Cambridge Analytica connection

Part of the case centered on Meta's handling of a third-party app linked to the Cambridge Analytica data breach, The Wall Street Journal reports. Other elements of the case addressed the company's broader data privacy policies and its efforts to curb misinformation on its platform.

Cambridge Analytica grew out of SLC Group, a British defense contractor that specialized in influence operations and other political work. The firm worked with the Trump campaign during the 2016 presidential election and was involved in a number of controversial initiatives.

Meta and New Mexico respond

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez cast the size of the award in everyday terms at a press conference. "We may have paid for the construction of schools for the next 100 years," he told journalists.

Meta says it will appeal. Chief Legal Officer C.J. Mahoney said in a statement shared with TechCrunch that the ruling and the attorney general's enforcement approach make it "all but impossible to do business in the state of New Mexico." He argued the lawsuit effectively "seeks to impose a tax on speech to enforce new rules for what people can say online," said Meta is confident it will prevail on appeal, and added that the company will continue building what he described as a safe and free platform for users, small businesses and the country's competitive edge.

Why it matters

TechCrunch calls this the largest payout yet in the Cambridge Analytica affair, which the outlet notes has repeatedly cost Meta enormous sums. The ruling shows that a single state, applying its own consumer protection statute, can pursue penalties on a scale previously associated with federal regulators. It also extends the scandal's legal tail: the liability here stems not only from the historic data breach but from how the company represented its privacy practices to users. With Meta committed to an appeal, the final figure could still change, but the order already sets a benchmark for what state attorneys general can seek from large platforms — and a reminder that the consequences of Cambridge Analytica for Meta are still accumulating.