RismadarVoice Reporters
October 21, 2026
A court in the United States has ordered Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, to pay $25 billion in civil penalties after a jury found that the technology giant misled consumers about its data privacy practices.
The judgment was delivered on Wednesday, October 21, by New Mexico District Court Judge Francis Mathew, following a jury verdict establishing that Facebook violated the state’s consumer protection laws millions of times.
The case arose from the Cambridge Analytica data scandal, which involved the unauthorised collection of personal information from as many as 87 million Facebook users.
The British political consulting company had obtained the information through a third-party application and used personal data for political profiling connected to the 2016 United States presidential election.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez initiated legal proceedings against Meta in 2021, accusing the company of misleading users about how their information was collected, accessed, shared and protected.
The state also challenged Facebook’s public statements regarding its handling of misinformation, hate speech and enforcement of community standards.
During proceedings that concluded on September 25, jurors found that 26 of the 29 statements examined were misleading.
The jury determined that Facebook committed approximately 43.9 million violations of New Mexico’s Unfair Practices Act.
Under the legislation, courts can impose penalties of up to $5,000 for each deliberate violation.
Judge Mathew calculated that the statutory penalties could exceed $219 billion but reduced the financial award to $25 billion.
The money is designated for New Mexico’s public education system, subject to the outcome of any appeals.
Meta challenged the state’s allegations and argued that the proposed penalties were excessive.
The company maintained that the evidence did not establish that consumers had suffered actual harm or that Facebook sold their personal information.
Meta’s lawyers had urged the court to limit any penalties to approximately $3.45 billion, warning that a much larger award would be unconstitutional.
The company is expected to challenge the ruling through the appeals process.
The latest decision represents another major legal setback for Meta in New Mexico.
Earlier in 2026, the company faced separate court rulings involving allegations that its social media platforms exposed young users to safety risks.
Those proceedings resulted in financial penalties and court-ordered measures relating to child protection.
The $25 billion judgment highlights growing legal scrutiny of major technology companies over the handling of personal information, transparency and the accuracy of public statements concerning platform safety.
However, the court order does not mean Meta has already paid the penalty, as the company retains the right to challenge the decision.
