A judge ordered Meta to pay $25 billion to the state of New Mexico on Wednesday following a trial regarding the company’s data privacy practices and its role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The penalty marks the largest payout yet for the social media giant in connection to the data breach.
The verdict follows a two-week trial in which a jury determined that the company behind Facebook and Instagram committed 43 million violations of state consumer protection laws. Each violation carried a $5,000 penalty, according to reports.
The legal proceedings focused on the company’s handling of a third-party app linked to the Cambridge Analytica breach, as well as its broader data privacy policies and efforts to mitigate misinformation on its platform. Cambridge Analytica, an outgrowth of the British defense contractor SLC Group, was known for influence operations and political work, including involvement with the 2016 Trump campaign.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez addressed the outcome during a press conference, stating, “We may have paid for the construction of schools for the next 100 years.”
Meta has announced its intention to appeal the decision. C.J. Mahoney, Meta’s chief legal officer, criticized the ruling in a statement provided to TechCrunch.
“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. “At its core, this lawsuit seeks to impose a tax on speech to enforce new rules for what people can say online. We are confident we will prevail on appeal. In the meantime, Meta will continue to build a safe and free platform to connect millions of Americans, grow small businesses, and help the country maintain its competitive edge.”
