Technology
New Mexico Seeks Up to $40 Billion in Penalties From Meta After Privacy Trial
Santa Fe, New Mexico — October 2, 2026 — New Mexico prosecutors are asking a state judge to impose between $35 billion and $40 billion in civil penalties against Meta Platforms, following a jury’s finding that Facebook misled consumers about the handling of their personal data and other platform policies.
The request came after a two-week trial in Santa Fe stemming from the Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which data associated with as many as 87 million Facebook users was obtained through a third-party application without their consent.
The jury returned its verdict on September 25, finding that 26 of 29 statements examined during the trial were false or misleading and that Facebook had committed more than 43 million violations of New Mexico’s consumer-protection law.
Image: New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez speaking to reporters. New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez Leads State’s Case Against Meta A press-conference, image of Torrez outside the First District Court has been published in coverage of New Mexico’s litigation against Meta.
State asks for tens of billions
New Mexico’s attorneys told Judge Francis Mathew that a penalty in the range of $35 billion to $40 billion would represent a substantial portion of the theoretical maximum available under the state’s Unfair Practices Act.
State law allows penalties of up to $5,000 for each willful violation. Applying that maximum to more than 43 million violations could produce a figure exceeding $200 billion, although prosecutors acknowledged that such an amount could raise constitutional due-process questions.
The state therefore asked the judge for a lower overall figure rather than the theoretical maximum.
Image: Meta’s headquarters sign at 1 Hacker Way in Menlo Park, California. Meta Faces Potential Multibillion-Dollar Penalty in New Mexico
Meta challenges the proposed penalty
Meta has opposed the state’s request, arguing that a penalty in the tens of billions would be excessive and constitutionally problematic.
The company has proposed that any financial penalty be capped at approximately $3.45 billion. Meta has also argued that New Mexico did not establish that consumers were actually misled by the specific statements examined by the jury.
Meta has disputed the state’s characterization of its historical privacy practices and has pointed to changes made to its policies and safeguards since the Cambridge Analytica controversy.
Image: Courtroom during the Meta proceedings, showing the case title on a courtroom monitor. Title: Inside the New Mexico Courtroom Where Meta’s Privacy Case Was Heard. A courtroom image showing State of New Mexico v. Meta Platforms, Inc. was published during the earlier proceedings.
What the jury found
The case examined Facebook’s representations concerning several areas, including:
- How users’ personal information was collected and shared.
- Whether third parties could obtain users’ information.
- Facebook’s representations about selling or providing personal information to advertisers.
- The company’s handling of misinformation and hate speech.
- Facebook’s response to third-party applications that had accessed large amounts of user information.
The New Mexico Department of Justice said the verdict found 43,899,725 violations of the state’s Unfair Practices Act. The precise financial consequence, however, remains for the judge to determine.
Cambridge Analytica connection
The lawsuit traces back to revelations that emerged in 2018 involving Cambridge Analytica, a political consulting company that obtained Facebook user information through a third-party application.
The scandal became one of the most prominent data-privacy controversies involving a major social-media company. New Mexico filed its case in 2021, alleging that Facebook’s public statements did not accurately describe how users’ information was handled.
New Mexico subsequently chose to pursue its case separately rather than participate in a broader multistate settlement involving Cambridge Analytica-related claims.
Judge to determine final amount
The jury’s verdict established liability but did not determine the final financial penalty. Judge Francis Mathew is expected to issue a ruling later this month after considering arguments from both sides.
Until the judge rules, the $35 billion-$40 billion figure is a request from New Mexico, not a judgment against Meta.
The case is State of New Mexico v. Facebook Inc., Case No. D-101-CV-2021-00132, in New Mexico’s First Judicial District Court.