Meta Ordered to Pay New Mexico $25 Billion in Consumer Protection Verdict; Company Vows Appeal

A New Mexico judge ordered Meta Platforms to pay $25 billion after a jury found the social media giant liable for violating state consumer protection laws, a ruling the company said Wednesday it will appeal. Judge Francis Mathew of the First Judicial District in Santa Fe issued the judgment. New Mexico had sought a penalty of between $35 billion and $45 billion. Jurors in September found Meta liable for more than 43 million violations tied to Cambridge Analytica's use of Facebook user data to generate targeted political ads in the 2016 general election. Attorney General Raúl Torrez said the award, destined for the state's education fund, is the largest single-state verdict against the company in U.S. history. Meta Chief Legal Officer C.J. Mahoney called the ruling an effort to "impose a tax on speech" and said the company is "confident we will prevail on appeal." Forty-eight other states settled with Facebook over similar allegations; New Mexico litigated alone.