New Mexico sets Meta’s privacy penalty at $25 billion after jury finds company misled users
The striking figure in this New Mexico case is the gap between what the judge said the law could support and what Meta was ordered to pay: more than $219 billion, reduced to $25 billion. That is still an extraordinary penalty. It also shows how a jury’s count of alleged consumer law violations can turn a dispute over privacy claims into a calculation on a scale few companies face.
The case grew out of allegations that Cambridge Analytica, a British political consulting firm involved in Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, obtained Facebook data from millions of people without their consent. New Mexico sued Meta in 2021, after reports that the firm had harvested personal information from as many as 87 million Facebook users through a third-party app.
Judge Francis Mathew wrote that Facebook’s conduct had persisted for years and touched the company’s core business practices. A Meta spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The jury’s count drove the stakes
Jurors found that 26 of 29 statements by Meta and its leaders about privacy, content moderation and company policies were misleading. They counted more than 43 million violations of New Mexico’s consumer protection laws, based on the number of users or residents exposed to each statement. State law permits penalties of up to $5,000 US per violation, with the proceeds going to New Mexico’s school system, Attorney General Raúl Torrez said after the verdict.
The state alleged Meta misrepresented who could access Facebook users’ data and how it handled hate speech and misinformation. It also argued that the company knew third parties had broad access to personal information and tolerated harmful content when doing so served its financial interests. Those remain allegations; the jury’s findings concerned the statements it judged misleading.
At an October 1 hearing, state lawyer Randi McGinn asked Mathew to award $35 billion to $40 billion, arguing that amount fit the jury’s verdict and constitutional due process protections. “This court should speak to Meta in the only language it understands, which is money, and the value of its stock price,” she said.
Meta urged the judge to limit the penalties to $3.45 billion. The company argued that a larger sum could deter businesses from operating in New Mexico, that it does not sell user data, and that the state had not shown any consumer was actually misled. Mathew set the final amount at $25 billion.
Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica problem hurts other developers
A separate case adds to Meta’s legal pressure
This was the second New Mexico jury verdict against Meta in six months. In March, a Santa Fe jury found the company had misled users about the safety of young people on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, and imposed $375 million in civil penalties. In a later phase, a judge ordered Meta to pay $567 million into a state fund for teen mental health and to adopt protections for teen users of Facebook and Instagram in New Mexico.
Another child safety case has produced a much larger settlement: Meta agreed to pay $16.68 billion to resolve claims brought by 29 states that its platforms harmed children. The agreement includes changes for underage users, such as daily usage limits and restrictions on age controlled content.
WATCH | Kids react to new restrictions coming to Meta in U.S.
Meta says restrictions are coming to Facebook and Instagram users under 18 in the U.S. under a settlement following a lawsuit by several states. The claims said the apps were designed to make children addicted; changes are expected within six months. CBC asked children in Toronto, Ont., whether they agreed with some of the restrictions. (2:18)
WATCH | Meta agrees to massive settlement over social media harms to children
Meta agreed to a $16.68 billion US settlement over claims from 29 states that its platforms were designed to harm children. The deal calls for changes including daily usage limits and limits on access to age restricted content. (3:17)
Landmark verdict in New Mexico finds Meta violated state child safety laws
WATCH | Meta ordered to pay hundreds of millions in child safety suit
A judge ordered Meta to pay $567 million US in the New Mexico child safety case. (Video)
