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New Mexico is asking a judge to impose up to $40 billion in penalties on Meta, but Meta has not been ordered to pay that amount. A jury found Facebook committed 43,899,725 violations of New Mexico’s Unfair Practices Act; the judge must still decide the penalty. Reuters reported on October 1, 2026, that a ruling was expected later in October.
What the jury decided—and what it did not
On September 25, 2026, a New Mexico jury found Facebook liable for 43,899,725 violations of the state’s Unfair Practices Act. The New Mexico Department of Justice said the findings involved statements about how Facebook collected, protected, shared, and used personal information, as well as representations about misinformation, hate speech, and the company’s investigation of third-party apps after the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The New Mexico Department of Justice announced the verdict.
The jury established liability and counted violations; it did not set the amount Meta must pay. New Mexico’s law allows a maximum of $5,000 per willful violation, according to the state’s verdict announcement, but that statutory ceiling is not the penalty ordered in this case. The judge determines the final amount.
New Mexico and Meta are asking for very different amounts
At an October 1 penalty hearing, New Mexico requested a total of $35 billion to $40 billion. Meta asked the judge to cap the penalties at $3.45 billion and argued that the state’s requested amount was unconstitutional. Reuters reported that Judge Francis Mathew expected to rule later in October; as of October 3, no penalty had been ordered. Reuters’ account of the hearing describes both positions.
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| Position | Amount | Status |
|---|---|---|
| New Mexico | $35 billion to $40 billion | Requested by the state at the October 1 hearing; not an award. |
| Meta | $3.45 billion | Cap requested by Meta; not the judge’s decision. |
Judge Mathew underscored that the parties would have to live with the consequences of taking the case to trial, telling them, “Well, when the parties go to trial, they roll the dice. They have to accept the consequences of their decision to go to trial, do they not?” That remark was reported by Reuters; it was not the ruling on the penalty.
How Cambridge Analytica fits into the case
The privacy suit was filed in 2021 after revelations that a third-party app had harvested personal data from as many as 87 million Facebook users without their consent, Reuters reported. That episode provides the case’s Cambridge Analytica backdrop, but the jury’s findings were broader than the app and the data it collected: they also concerned company statements about privacy practices, misinformation, hate speech, and platform policies. The state specifically challenged promises about investigating third-party apps after the scandal.
Rank #2
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez said after the verdict, “For years, Facebook operated as if the rules that apply to everyone else didn’t apply to them. Today, a jury of New Mexicans said otherwise.” Meta spokesperson Andy Stone, in a statement reported by the Associated Press, said Meta’s platforms are forums for free expression and that the company seeks to protect users’ information and give them control over their data. The Associated Press reported Meta’s response.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsDo not confuse this with New Mexico’s child-safety case
Meta also faces a separate New Mexico proceeding concerning child safety on Facebook and Instagram. In that case, the First Judicial District Court entered a $942 million judgment and ordered five years of court-supervised reforms. That judgment is distinct from the privacy case: it is not part of the $35 billion to $40 billion sought over the Unfair Practices Act violations, and it should not be added to that request. The New Mexico Department of Justice’s child-safety case announcement provides details.
Quick Recap
Rank #4
- Know when people have seen your messages.
- Forward messages or photos to people who weren't in the conversation.
- Search for people and groups to quickly get back to them.
- Turn on location to let people know when you're nearby.
- See who's available on Messenger and who's active on Facebook.
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