A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay the state $25 billion on Oct. 21, 2026, after a jury found the company repeatedly violated consumer-protection laws by misleading users about how their personal information was handled. The jury, in a Santa Fe state court, found more than 43 million violations tied to Meta’s failure to prevent third-party app developers from accessing users’ personal information. Judge Francis J. Mathew said the damage reached “the heart of Facebook’s basic business proposition.” The case stemmed from the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The data firm improperly obtained information on tens of millions of Facebook users and used it to target voters, including in connection with Donald Trump’s successful 2016 presidential campaign. New Mexico filed suit five years before the ruling, following revelations about the data transfers. Mathew cited what he described as a series of false statements by Meta, including the company’s promise to conduct a thorough investigation after the scandal became public in 2018. The judgment is among the largest penalties imposed on a technology company. Meta plans to appeal, the company’s chief legal officer said. The appeal means the ruling’s final financial impact remains subject to further court proceedings.