Meta ordered to pay New Mexico $25 billion in privacy case

The case grew out of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, involving the collection and use of Facebook users' personal information. The New York Post described Cambridge Analytica as a British political consulting firm that harvested data from as many as 87 million users.

The data was used for the 2016 US presidential campaign, according to DIE ZEIT. The New Mexico litigation focused on whether Meta misled consumers about their privacy, rather than simply whether data had been collected.

The underlying events reach back to the 2016 election. The New York Post linked the case to the use of Facebook user data during that election.

In 2021, New Mexico's attorney general sued Meta following revelations about Cambridge Analytica's harvesting of personal information, the New York Post reported.

By October 21, 2026, a state jury had found Meta liable for misleading New Mexico consumers about data privacy, according to The Wall Street Journal Tech. ABC Top Stories described the finding as involving deception about both privacy and content moderation on Facebook.

Reports published on October 21 said a judge had ordered Meta to pay New Mexico $25 billion. CNBC International described the sum as a penalty related to the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

The reported outcome is a jury finding of liability followed by a judge's $25 billion payment order. NYT > Technology described the penalty as one of the largest levied against Meta.

The supplied coverage does not establish that Meta has paid the money. It also does not give a payment deadline or describe any appeal.

The immediate unanswered questions are whether Meta will challenge the order and when payment would be due. The supplied reports do not set out those next procedural steps or provide Meta's response.