New Mexico Judge Orders Meta to Pay $25 Billion Over Misleading Users in Cambridge Analytica Case

A New Mexico judge ordered Meta Platforms on Wednesday to pay $25 billion in penalties after a jury found the company misled consumers about data privacy. Judge Francis Mathew said a penalty of more than $219 billion, about $219.5 billion in the filing, was warranted under state law but reduced it to $25 billion. Jurors found on Sept. 25 that 26 of 29 statements by Meta and its leaders were misleading, amounting to more than 43 million violations of the state's unfair practices act, each carrying up to $5,000. The state attorney general sued in 2021 after Cambridge Analytica, a firm tied to Donald Trump's 2016 campaign, harvested data from up to 87 million Facebook users. Attorney General Raúl Torrez said all of the money goes to the school system. The judge also set interest at 15%. Meta did not immediately comment.

Left-leaning outlets lead with the size of the penalty and the judge's written criticism of Meta's practices; the Times focuses on deception, the Guardian on the Trump campaign link. Alternative outlets, CNBC and Straight Arrow News, stress the violation count and calculation, with CNBC adding the judge's reasoning and interest. Right-leaning New York Post details the state's accusations and Torrez's statement on funding. All sides agree on the amount and the jury finding.