Meta Ordered to Pay $25 Billion Penalty in New Mexico Over Cambridge Analytica Scandal

Image: Meta ordered to pay $25 billion in penalties over the Cambridge Analytica scandal · Source

A New Mexico judge has imposed a $25 billion penalty on Meta for over 43 million violations linked to misleading consumers about data protection following the Cambridge Analytica scandal, marking one of the largest financial punishments against a corporation in U.S. history.

Meta faces a significant legal setback as a New Mexico judge ordered the company to pay $25 billion in penalties related to the Cambridge Analytica data scandal. The ruling stems from a 2021 complaint filed after revelations that Cambridge Analytica, a UK political consulting firm, harvested data from millions of Facebook accounts. These data were used to target messages for voters during Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.

The New Mexico jury concluded in September that Meta had misled consumers regarding its efforts to protect their personal data and to mitigate misinformation and hate speech on its platforms. The court found over 43 million violations of the state's unfair practices law. Because of the scale, duration, involvement of senior Facebook leadership, and the breadth of the violations, the judge applied the maximum penalty of $5,000 per violation. Although this calculation initially tallied more than $219 billion in civil penalties, the judge chose to reduce the imposed fine to $25 billion.

This penalty is described by the New Mexico Attorney General's office as one of the largest financial penalties ever levied against a U.S. corporation. The case adds to Meta's recent legal challenges, including another ruling in New Mexico ordering the company to pay close to $1 billion for misleading users about product safety, and a separate $17.1 billion settlement with multiple state attorneys general addressing children's online safety concerns.

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez emphasized the broader significance of the trial, stating that it establishes accountability for corporations that mislead consumers about handling personal information. Meta has not made an immediate public comment on the ruling. This judgment reflects intensifying scrutiny on the company’s handling of user data and its broader impact on privacy and consumer trust in digital platforms.