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A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $25 billion over misleading statements about Facebook’s handling of personal data following the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Judge Francis Mathew reduced an initial $220 billion award after a jury found more than 43 million violations of the state’s consumer protection law, determining that 26 of 29 examined statements were misleading. The reduced penalty carries 15% annual interest until paid. New Mexico filed the lawsuit in 2021 over practices connected to the disclosure that data belonging to as many as 87 million Facebook users had been obtained through a third-party app without their consent.
Mathew found that senior leadership coordinated misleading public statements and that Facebook’s promised investigation into third-party data misuse was willfully ineffective. The ruling highlights the financial exposure associated with deceptive privacy assurances and inadequate oversight of third-party access to user information. Meta disputes the decision and plans to appeal, challenging the enforcement approach and arguing that the lawsuit improperly restricts online speech.
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Meta appealed the $25 billion judgment over Facebook's data practices connected to the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The company expressed confidence that the ruling would be overturned.
Meta said it plans to appeal the ruling. Chief Legal Officer C.J. Mahoney characterized the lawsuit as an attempt to impose a tax on speech and criticized New Mexico's enforcement approach.
Judge Francis Mathew reduced an initial penalty of roughly $220 billion to $25 billion, with 15% annual interest until payment. His findings described coordinated deception by Facebook leadership and a willfully ineffective investigation into third-party data misuse.
In September, a jury found that Meta violated New Mexico's unfair practices law more than 43 million times. Jurors determined that 26 of the 29 statements examined during the trial were misleading.
An August settlement with several other state attorneys general included a $459 million Cambridge Analytica-related penalty against Meta. The broader settlement totaled roughly $17 billion.
At an October 1 hearing, New Mexico outside counsel Randi McGinn requested penalties of $35 billion to $40 billion. Meta sought a $3.45 billion cap, arguing that a larger penalty would make operating in New Mexico economically unviable.
Meta settled a class action lawsuit related to the Cambridge Analytica scandal for $725 million.
New Mexico sued Meta over representations about access to users' personal information and Facebook's handling of harmful content. The litigation stemmed from the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
The Cambridge Analytica scandal became public following whistleblower disclosures. It involved data belonging to as many as 87 million Facebook users obtained through a third-party app without their consent.
Cambridge Analytica used Facebook user data to construct psychological profiles for targeted political advertising, including during the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The firm worked for Donald Trump's campaign.
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A New Mexico jury found Facebook, owned by Meta, liable for nearly 44 million violations of the state’s consumer-protection law over deceptive statements about data privacy during and after the Cambridge Analytica data-harvesting scandal. The verdict concluded that Facebook misled users about their control over data sharing, the sale or use of private data, and its investigation of third-party applications that harvested user information. The court will consider monetary penalties at an October 1 hearing. New Mexico is seeking up to **$5,000 per violation**—creating potential exposure exceeding $200 billion—as well as an injunction requiring changes to Facebook’s future privacy practices. The jury rejected claims tied to Facebook’s assertions about removing harmful content, although reporting also described findings involving claims about enforcement of community standards, hate speech, and misinformation.
Sep 28, 2026
Meta agreed to settle claims brought by 29 U.S. states alleging that Facebook and Instagram were deliberately designed to addict children and teenagers, misrepresented their safety, and collected children’s data without required parental consent. The company denied the allegations while agreeing to pay at least **$12.1 billion** over 10 years, with total payments potentially reaching approximately **$17.1 billion** if other major social-media companies adopt comparable child-safety measures. The settlement requires Meta to introduce stronger protections for young users, including age verification, expanded parental controls, daily usage limits, nighttime access restrictions, and muted notifications during school hours. The states alleged Meta prioritized user growth and advertising revenue despite evidence of harms to minors; District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb described the agreement as a significant public-health victory.
Aug 28, 2026
A Los Angeles jury found **Meta** and **YouTube** liable in a landmark lawsuit brought by a 20-year-old woman identified as `K.G.M.`, ruling that social media platforms can be addictive and that their design contributed to mental health harm she says began while using the services as a minor. Jurors awarded **$3 million** in damages, assigning **70%** of the payment to Meta and **30%** to YouTube, after concluding the companies were negligent; deliberations on punitive damages were still continuing. The case focused on features such as infinite scroll and exposure that allegedly fueled depression and suicidal thoughts, and the verdict is expected to bolster thousands of similar claims against Meta, YouTube, TikTok, and Snap. A separate New Mexico case also recently ordered Meta to pay **$375 million** over alleged failures tied to child safety and sexual exploitation risks on its platforms. In Australia, pressure on major platforms intensified as the country’s online safety regulator opened investigations into possible violations of the national ban on social media use by children under 16. eSafety Commissioner **Julie Inman Grant** said some companies may not be doing enough to comply with the law despite initial measures, naming **Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube** as platforms of concern. Together, the court ruling in the United States and the Australian probe underscore growing legal and regulatory action against social media companies over platform design, child safety, and protections for minors.
Mar 30, 2026