Meta hit with $25 billion penalty in New Mexico data case

The judgment centers on the fallout from the Cambridge Analytica scandal, where the political consultancy harvested personal data from millions of Facebook accounts to target U.S. voters. While the state's potential maximum penalty reached $219 billion, the court reduced the final figure based on the duration, repetition, and the involvement of senior leadership in the conduct. This decision stands as one of the largest corporate financial penalties in American history, significantly outpacing previous legal settlements.

The case originated from a 2021 complaint, evolving into a major rebuke of Meta’s internal oversight. New Mexico authorities argued that the company’s failure to prevent the spread of harmful content and its misrepresentations to the public warranted severe punitive action. This ruling arrives shortly after another state court decision required the company to pay nearly $1 billion for misleading the public about product safety. Meta has not yet commented on the current ruling.