Meta ordered to pay $25 billion in penalties over the Cambridge Analytica scandal

<figure> <img alt="Photo of Mark Zuckerberg in front of background of Meta logo." data-caption="Mark Zuckerberg. | Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images" data-portal-copyright="Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/04/STKS507_FTCxMETA_ANTITRUST_CVIRGINIA_2_E.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;crop=0,0,100,100" /> <figcaption> Mark Zuckerberg. | Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge, Getty Images </figcaption> </figure> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">The Cambridge Analytica scandal has come back to haunt Meta after a New Mexico judge ordered it to pay $25 billion in penalties for more than 43 million violations of the state's unfair practices law. The ruling marks the biggest legal hit Meta has taken this year, even as it's faced several other losses or settlements.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">A New Mexico <a href="https://www.theverge.com/policy/1000904/another-new-mexico-jury-finds-that-meta-misled-consumers">jury ruled</a> in September that Meta misled consumers over how it protected their data and prevented misinformation and hate speech on its platforms. The case stemmed from a 2021 complaint in the wake of the revelations a few years earlier that UK political consultancy Cambridge Analytica harvested data from millio …</p> <p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/policy/1015782/meta-new-mexico-cambridge-analytica-penalty">Read the full story at The Verge.</a></p>