A judge in New Mexico has fined Meta $25 billion for its flouting of data privacy laws between 2010 and 2021, including its controversial passing of data to Cambridge Analytica.
The action serves as a stark reminder to enterprises not to play fast and loose with data protection legislation, as the consequences could be highly damaging.
Meta faced the court action after it was revealed that data company Cambridge Analytica had improperly obtained personal data that Facebook was holding.
It could have been even worse for Meta. Under New Mexico law, the damages could have been as high as $219 billion, which would have exceeded its revenue for 2025.
Judge Francis Mathew reduced his demand to $25 billion without explanation, but was scathing in his judgment on the social media company. “The harm in this matter is difficult to overstate, and goes to the heart of Facebook’s basic business proposition,” he wrote in his order.
The company had committed more than 43 million violations of New Mexico’s consumer protection laws and had deceived its users by giving third-party app developers access to personal information without consent. The company is set to appeal against the judgment.
It’s been a bad couple of months for Meta. In August, the company agreed to an $18 billion settlement over claims that Facebook and Instagram failed to prevent children from accessing its platforms. And in July, another judge in New Mexico fined the company just under $1 billion for, again, failing to protect minors.
In Europe, companies are also under pressure over data protection. Last year, breaches of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) rose 22%, with a record €1.2 billion in fines issued, as legislators look to get tougher on big tech companies.