Meta hit with $25 billion penalty for misleading Facebook users

Axios

CEO of Meta Platforms Mark Zuckerberg looks on as U.S. President Donald Trump holds a press briefing with AI executives following a meeting on artificial intelligence, outside the West Wing of the White House on September 29, 2026 in Washington, DC. — CEO of Meta Platforms Mark Zuckerberg looks on at the White House on Sept. 29, 2026. Photo: Finn Gomez/Getty Images

A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $25 billion in penalties Wednesday after a jury found in September that the social media giant misled users about their data privacy.

Why it matters: The penalties come nearly a decade after the Cambridge Analytica scandal first broke and signal that Big Tech can face significant financial consequences for misleading users about their privacy.

Driving the news: Judge Francis Mathew determined the penalty amount Wednesday, handing New Mexico a win as the only state that chose not to settle its claims as part of a nationwide legal battle.

Meta did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment. The company has previously said it expects to appeal the decision.

Catch up quick: The suit followed reporting that revealed data firm Cambridge Analytica had harvested data from more than 50 million Facebook users to craft political ads during the 2016 election.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.

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Meta hit with $25 billion penalty for misleading Facebook users

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