Kathmandu. Meta, the company that runs Facebook and Instagram, has suffered a big setback in the US.
A New Mexico court has ordered the company to pay a $25 billion fine in a case related to user data and privacy. The lawsuit is related to how the company informed people about their use of personal data, sharing it with others, and harmful content on the platform.
The case is significant because its roots go back to the Cambridge Analytica controversy that emerged during the 2016 US presidential election. At the time, the use of the personal information of millions of Facebook users for political advertising had attracted global attention. Now, the New Mexico court’s decision has once again raised questions about how accountable big tech companies are with respect to user data.
However, it would be wrong to take this decision as a final recovery from Meta. The company has already announced its intention to appeal the decision. As a result, the legal battle may continue. However, it is clear that Meta’s path will not be easy from here. Facebook has been facing allegations of data misuse since the Cambridge Analytica case.
The U.S. state of New Mexico filed a lawsuit against Meta in 2021. The state accused Facebook of providing users with misleading information about the security and use of their data. In the allegations, the company allowed access to large amounts of information through third-party apps, convincing users that they had control over how their personal data was shared.
During the lawsuit, the company’s statements and policies were questioned. It also examined what Facebook had said to people about its efforts to curb misinformation and hateful content on its platform.
In September 2026, a jury found that 26 of the company’s 29 statements were misleading. The jury found the company liable for approximately 43.9 million violations under New Mexico’s Consumer Protection Act. The court later imposed a $25 billion civil fine due on Oct. 21, 2026.
To understand this whole controversy, we have to go back almost a decade. In 2018, the Cambridge Analytica scandal related to Facebook caused a stir worldwide. The allegation was that data from about 87 million Facebook profiles was obtained through third-party apps and used to target political ads.
Cambridge Analytica was a political consulting company. The controversy raised questions about how secure the information people share on Facebook is and whether they know which people or companies can access their data.
The New Mexico lawsuit is related to this dispute, but the hearing was not limited to past data issues. It also raised questions about the company’s privacy statement, claims about access by third-party apps, and harmful content.
The state alleged that the company made false statements assuring people that their data was safe and that necessary steps were being taken to prevent its misuse. The jury found many of the statements to be misleading. Based on this, the company was found liable for violating the law. – Agency
