New Mexico judge orders Meta to pay 25 billion dollars

A state judge in New Mexico ordered Meta to pay 25 billion dollars in civil penalties on Wednesday, October 21, 2026. State District Court Judge Francis J. Mathew issued the ruling following a civil trial in September where a jury found Meta liable for deceiving users about data privacy and content moderation policies on Facebook. Deadline and Variety Business both reported on the judicial order. [1][2]

The ruling stems from the landmark Cambridge Analytica case brought against the company for violations of the state Unfair Practices Act. Variety Business reported that New Mexico first sued the tech giant in 2021 following the scandal. A jury determined last month that Meta violated state law nearly 44 million times, according to Variety Business. Deadline noted that the 25 billion dollar judgment is the largest civil penalty levied against Meta to date. [1][2]

The decision comes amid broader financial and legal pressures facing the parent company of Facebook. Variety Business separately reported that Meta reached an 18 billion dollar nationwide settlement with state attorneys general. That settlement resulted in nearly 10 billion dollars in additional costs for the company during its third quarter of 2026. [3]

Despite those legal costs causing Meta to miss Wall Street expectations on per-share earnings, quarterly revenue increased by 28 percent to 64.6 billion dollars, Variety Business reported. Net income for the quarter reached 9.86 billion dollars. [3]