A New Mexico judge has ordered Meta to pay $25 billion over the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The ruling landed last week and dwarfs every settlement the company has reached with US states so far. It also changes the math for every attorney general still weighing a fight with a platform giant.
The court order covers millions of violations of New Mexico’s unfair practices law. A jury found that Meta misled users about how it protected their data. Jurors also found the company misrepresented how well it policed misinformation and hate speech. Those claims trace back to the 2018 Cambridge Analytica disclosures, when third parties harvested profile data at scale.
Most other states resolved similar claims inside a broader kids online safety settlement. That deal produced a $459 million payout, a fraction of the New Mexico figure. The smaller number came with real trade-offs. States got certainty and faster money, spread across ten years of payments. They also locked in product commitments from Meta, including limits on teen usage.
Why the Settling States May Regret Their Deal
Legal observers expect the comparison to sting. “For the settling AGs, they’re going to look at this and maybe experience some regret for all the claims that they waived,” said Daphne Keller of Stanford’s Program in Law, Science & Technology. She added that those offices are likely searching for claims they never waived, hoping to chase a similar award.
Meta is not accepting the outcome quietly. Chief legal officer C.J. Mahoney said the company is “confident we will prevail on appeal.” He described New Mexico’s case as an attempt to impose “a tax on speech.” The fine still has to survive that challenge, and a reduced award would weaken the precedent for everyone else.
Florida and DC Are Watching Closely
Some states never joined the settlement and now look vindicated. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier called the multi-state deal “a slap on the wrist” at the time. He said this week that Florida will not “sell out to Meta” and intends to hold the company accountable.
The District of Columbia may become the next real test. It kept its Cambridge Analytica claims alive and is still litigating them in court. New Mexico’s win, plus a separate judgment against Meta in that state, gives those lawyers a template.
For users, the practical question is whether any of this turns into product change. A settlement already bought teen restrictions. A court order could buy more, but only after the appeals play out over the coming years.
Source: The Verge — Meta’s $25 billion legal loss just put blood in the water
Related reading on mylistingo: Google now lets Gmail and Photos feed its ad targeting, and The RealReal blocks AI shopping agents after Meta’s Muse.
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