Judge Francis Mathew ruled Wednesday that Meta Platforms owed New Mexico $219.5 billion, then trimmed the fine to $25 billion. The order sets the amount Facebook will pay in the state’s Cambridge Analytica case.
Mathew multiplied the jury’s count of more than 43 million violations by $5,000 each. New Mexico’s Unfair Practices Act provides for no greater penalty per violation.
The interest is 15% a year until Meta pays in full. The court deferred injunctive relief pending further briefing.
New Mexico sought between $35 billion and $40 billion. Meta asked the judge to restrict penalties to $3.45 billion, saying that a higher number would risk chasing businesses out of the state.
“Facebook systematically misled the public regarding the core of its business operations,” Mathew said. His order estimated Facebook’s value in 2025 at about $1.7 trillion and annual revenue of $200 billion.
Torrez says about 44 million violations carry real consequences
On Sept. 25, jurors found that 26 of 29 statements made by Facebook and its leadership were misleading. The statements included who is able to see user data, how the company contends with hate speech and misinformation, and other internal policies.
Each violation counted as one Facebook user or one New Mexico resident in the audience for a misleading statement. Meta said in filings it does not sell user data and New Mexico never established any consumer was actually misled.
Then-Attorney General Hector Balderas filed suit in 2021. Data from as many as 87 million Facebook users was harvested by British political consultancy Cambridge Analytica using a third-party app.
“A New Mexico jury found nearly 44 million violations of our consumer protection statute, and this penalty order demonstrates that those violations carry real consequences,” said Attorney General Raúl Torrez in a statement.
New Mexico schools wait on the appeal Mahoney expects to win
New Mexico’s school system gets penalty money by state law. “We may have paid for the construction of schools for the next 100 years,” Torrez said.
If Meta appeals, the money will be tied up, he said. Meta chief legal officer C.J. Mahoney said the company is “confident” it will “prevail on appeal.”
“This ruling, and the Attorney General’s approach to this enforcement, makes it all but impossible to do business in the state of New Mexico,” Mahoney said.
The decision is the second Santa Fe ruling against Meta in six months. A jury in March levied $375 million in penalties related to young users’ safety, and a judge later steered $567 million into a teen mental health fund.
New Mexico opted out of a multistate settlement agreed to on August 26 that also settled claims against Meta over Cambridge Analytica. The deal brings Oregon alone $125 million, and Meta shares climbed 2.1% that afternoon, reported Cryptopolitan.
The state Department of Justice said its allegations were put to the test in court because it went to trial. Florida, the only other holdout, asked a Pasco County court on October 7 to ban Instagram and Facebook for users under 14.
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