Overview
- A New Mexico judge on Wednesday, October 21, 2026 fixed a $25 billion judgment after a jury found 26 of 29 public statements by Meta or its executives were deceptive and concluded the company committed more than 43 million violations of state consumer-protection law.
- The judge used New Mexico's statutory maximum of $5,000 per violation to calculate the award, ordered interest to accrue at 15% annually, and directed that funds be placed into a state education fund.
- Meta has announced it will appeal the ruling and is expected to challenge the number of violations, the constitutionality and size of the penalty, and whether the state proved concrete consumer harm, steps that will likely delay any payment.
- New Mexico pursued the case separately instead of joining an August 2026 multistate $18 billion settlement, a decision that produced a much larger single-state judgment and could influence future state enforcement strategies against big tech.
- The claim traces to the 2018 Cambridge Analytica revelations about data from roughly 87 million Facebook profiles and follows earlier penalties against Meta, including a $5 billion FTC fine, highlighting growing legal and financial risks for social platforms and the possibility that the award could change on appeal before benefiting New Mexico schools.