New Mexico judge orders Meta to pay $25 billion in fines for privacy violations

Meta has been ordered to pay $25 billion for deceiving users about data privacy, one of the largest fines ever for the Facebook and Instagram owner. A New Mexico judge issued the order Wednesday, the result of a 2021 lawsuit tied to the Cambridge Analytica scandal. A jury ruled against Meta last month and cited 43 million violations of New Mexico’s consumer protection laws. The judge called the company’s violations “willful” and said they deserved “the highest level of penalty.”