Meta hit with $25 billion penalty in New Mexico privacy lawsuit

The verdict follows a two-week trial centered on how the company managed user data and its transparency regarding platform policies. Jurors determined that Meta’s handling of third-party applications and its mitigation of misinformation constituted a massive breach of state regulations, with each of the 43 million violations incurring a $5,000 fine. New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez characterized the outcome as a generational win for the state’s public infrastructure.

Meta’s Chief Legal Officer, C.J. Mahoney, immediately rejected the ruling, framing the penalty as an unconstitutional tax on speech that threatens the company's ability to operate within the state. The firm maintains that the lawsuit misrepresents its role in moderating online discourse and has vowed to challenge the decision in appellate court. While the legal battle is set to continue, the scale of the judgment underscores the persistent regulatory fallout from the company's historical data management failures.