New Mexico orders Meta to pay $25B over Cambridge Analytica privacy case

On Wednesday, a New Mexico state judge ordered Meta to pay $25 billion following a jury verdict that found the tech giant misled consumers about data privacy in connection with the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

The penalty stems from a September jury decision in Santa Fe, where jurors determined that Meta committed upwards of 43 million violations of the state's consumer protection statutes through misleading public statements regarding data collection and safeguards. According to DW.com, the underlying controversy dates back to 2016, when a third-party personality quiz harvested personal data from approximately 87 million Facebook profiles without explicit consent, supplying the information to the political consultancy for voter profiling during Donald Trump's presidential campaign.

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New Mexico District Court Judge Francis Mathew authored a 20-page filing explaining the penalty, noting that the company's systematic misstatements went to the core of its business practices. While state law could have permitted a maximum penalty exceeding $219 billion, Judge Mathew reduced the final assessment to $25 billion, adding a 15% annual interest charge while appeals proceed.

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez praised the outcome during a news conference, stating that the substantial financial penalty demonstrates that major technology firms are not above the law. Under the New Mexico Constitution, the collected funds are earmarked directly for the state education system, prompting Torrez to remark that the judgment could theoretically fund school construction for generations.

Legal experts and financial analysts have weighed in on the sustainability of the penalty. Vincent Joralemon, a senior fellow at the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology, noted to the New York Post that while the factual pattern is damning for the company, the actual damages might face reductions on appeal.

Meta's chief legal officer, C. J. Mahoney, sharply criticized the ruling, asserting that the lawsuit attempts to impose an unconstitutional tax on online speech. Gizmodo reported that Mahoney characterized the enforcement approach as a barrier to doing business in New Mexico, confirming that the firm is confident it will prevail through the appellate process.

Unlike other states that joined a multistate settlement addressing Cambridge Analytica and teen mental health concerns earlier in the year, New Mexico chose to pursue independent litigation to preserve their specific claims. The latest decision builds upon prior state actions, including a March jury verdict requiring Meta to pay $375 million over child safety misrepresentations, followed by an additional $567 million abatement fund order in August.

As the case moves toward appellate courts, the financial penalty will continue to accrue 15% annual interest.