New Mexico officials are seeking a penalty of up to $40 billion from Meta Platforms following a jury verdict that found the company misled users about privacy. Meta has asked the court to cap the fine at $3.45 billion, arguing the state's request is excessive. A judge is expected to issue a final ruling on the penalty amount later this month.
Meta Platforms is facing a major legal hurdle in New Mexico, where state attorneys have urged a judge to impose a financial penalty ranging from $35 billion to $40 billion. This request follows a jury verdict delivered on September 25, 2026, which determined that the tech giant misled Facebook users regarding data privacy practices in connection with the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
The jury identified over 43 million individual violations of New Mexico’s consumer protection laws. State prosecutors are now seeking to apply a significant fine per violation, arguing that a penalty in the billions is necessary to adequately address the scale of the company's actions and ensure accountability for the breach of consumer trust.
Meta’s legal defense team has challenged this request, labeling the potential $40 billion figure as astronomical and unconstitutional. In court proceedings, the company’s representatives argued that the state failed to prove actual harm to consumers and that the jury's decision relied on a narrow interpretation of public statements rather than a broader understanding of the company's platform policies. Meta has formally requested that Judge Francis Mathew, who is presiding over the case in Santa Fe, cap any financial penalty at $3.45 billion.
The final decision rests entirely with the judge, who has the authority to set the penalty amount within the statutory limits defined by the jury's findings. For investors and market observers, this case is important because it highlights the potential for state-level consumer protection laws to result in massive liabilities for large technology companies. While Meta maintains significant cash reserves, a penalty of this magnitude would be a material event, potentially impacting its financial standing and setting a precedent for future litigation in other jurisdictions.
This legal battle, which first began in 2021, has reached a critical stage. Both the state and the company have remained firm in their positions, with no compromise reached during recent hearings. The court is expected to deliver a definitive ruling on the final penalty amount later in October 2026. Beyond the immediate financial impact, the outcome will be closely monitored for its implications on how tech companies manage data privacy and the level of regulatory scrutiny they may face at the state level in the United States.