Meta has been ordered to pay $25 billion following a judicial decision in New Mexico, resulting from a two-week trial earlier this year. The court found that the company had engaged in sustained misrepresentations regarding how it managed and shared Facebook user data with third parties.
The case centered on Meta’s public statements claiming that user data was never accessed or shared without explicit user permission, when in reality such sharing occurred. New Mexico’s legal team argued that approximately two million state residents were affected by these deceptive practices. The jury determined that Meta had violated state law more than 40 million times through its conduct. The judge characterized the violations as “willful” and noted they spanned from 2010 to 2021, with internal communications between senior executives deliberately designed to mislead the public.
The fine also addressed allegations that Meta had misled consumers about how it profited from content including hate speech and about enforcement of related policies. The company contested these claims, with its legal representatives arguing the lawsuit amounted to imposing restrictions on speech. New Mexico’s Attorney General Raúl Torrez stated the decision demonstrated that no corporation could operate beyond legal accountability regardless of its size or influence.
The $25 billion penalty represents a reduction from calculations that could have reached $219 billion based on the scale of violations. Meta had argued that fines exceeding $3.4 billion would be unconstitutional, while New Mexico’s lawyers had sought up to $40 billion. The company indicated its intention to appeal the ruling. This fine follows other significant legal actions against Meta earlier this year, including an $18 billion settlement with California regarding child safety concerns and a separate $1 billion fine from New Mexico related to misleading claims about platform safety for children.
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