New Mexico asks for up to $40 billion after jury counts 43 million Meta violations
New Mexico asked a state judge for up to $40 billion from Meta after a jury found more than 43 million violations of its Unfair Practices Act. That is seven to eight times Meta's 2019 FTC settlement, sought over public statements about privacy and hate speech.
The Watch · Security desk
What happened
- The finding rests on dozens of statements by Meta and its top executives that Attorney General Raúl Torrez said deceived residents after Cambridge Analytica.
- The Unfair Practices Act allows a penalty of up to $5,000 per violation, a theoretical maximum of $219 billion on the jury's count.
- Meta's attorney, Matthew Nicholson of Williams & Connolly, said the state offered no evidence any resident saw or heard the statements, or was harmed by them.
- Judge Francis Mathew of the First Judicial District Court gave both sides time for more briefs and said he would rule within three weeks.
Why it matters
- What it costs cost Even the $35 billion low end would cost Meta about 5.7 times the roughly $6.2 billion it paid across its three Cambridge Analytica settlements combined.
- What doesn't add up contradiction A jury count in the tens of millions, against Meta's claim that no resident was shown to have seen a single statement, gives Meta its constitutional argument against any large award.
- What it sets up precedent If Mathew awards anything in the requested range, a state will have turned a company's public privacy statements into a per-violation penalty measured in tens of billions.
Next story · Security · Sep 28
New Mexico jury finds Facebook deceived users about data privacy nearly 44 million timesConfirmed5 publishers
New Mexico is asking for a fraction of what the count allows. Randi McGinn, of Montoya Love Curry & Sievers, asked the judge to apply the full $5,000 rate and then reduce the total to between $35 billion and $40 billion. She said the maximum would draw due process concerns [10]. The request is 16% to 18% of the ceiling [20]. Spread across the jury's count, $40 billion comes to less than $1,000 a violation [19].
"This court should speak to Meta in the only language it understands, which is money and its stock price," McGinn said at the hearing in Santa Fe [5]. "I'm going to ask you to award an amount that will affect its stock price." [6] She said an award that size would be the largest verdict in US legal history [11].
Nicholson said any award in the tens of billions would be "a constitutional violation of epic proportions" and would drive legitimate business out of the state [12]. Mathew appeared skeptical of Meta's arguments several times. He questioned Meta's suggestion that New Mexico should accept less because it has a smaller population. He also noted that many of the awards Meta cited were negotiated settlements [13].
Those settlements make up Meta's record on Cambridge Analytica. It paid the Federal Trade Commission $5 billion in 2019 [15]. It settled a consumer class action for $725 million in 2022 [16]. This summer it paid $459 million to resolve cases from 46 states and two territories, in a deal that did not include New Mexico [17]. The state has already beaten Meta at trial once this year. A separate jury verdict over teen mental health and child sexual exploitation carried a $375 million civil penalty [18].
So far the finding is one state jury applying one statute. Bloomberg Law's report does not include the jury's method for turning the statements into its count. Working back from the statute's ceiling at $5,000 a violation gives about 43.8 million [14]. Mathew gave no figure for the award [7].
What to watch
- Mathew's ruling, due within three weeks of the hearing, and the per-violation rate it applies to the jury's count.
- Whether Meta appeals on the due process grounds both sides raised at the hearing.
- Whether other state attorneys general bring per-violation claims over public privacy statements after the ruling.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence74
- Adoption
- Not scored
- Hype gap+15
- Incentives70
- Confidence68
Perspective Coverage
4 publishers- Builder
- Builder 10%
- Operator
- Operator 41%
- Investor
- Investor 49%
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
The New Mexico Attorney General asked a state court judge at a hearing Tuesday to issue up to $40 billion in civil penalties against Meta.
- [2]
The jury determined last week that Meta had violated New Mexico's Unfair Practices Act over 43 million times, based on dozens of deceptive statements on hate speech and data privacy made by the company and its top executives.
- [3]
The statute allows a penalty of up to $5,000 per violation, resulting in a theoretical maximum of $219 billion based on the violations count.
- [4]
The two-week jury trial centered on claims by Attorney General Raúl Torrez that Meta deceived New Mexico residents about its hate speech policies and data privacy promises in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica leak.
- [5]
"This court should speak to Meta in the only language it understands, which is money and its stock price,"
- [6]
"I'm going to ask you to award an amount that will affect its stock price."
- [7]
Judge Mathew did not indicate how much he would award.
- [8]
Judge Francis Mathew of the First Judicial District Court of New Mexico said he would give the parties more time to submit additional briefs and would issue a ruling within the next three weeks.
- [9]
Nicholson said the attorney general had presented no evidence any New Mexico resident had ever seen or heard the deceptive statements at issue, and no evidence anyone was harmed by them.
- [10]
New Mexico's attorney Randi McGinn, of Montoya Love Curry & Sievers PA, asked Judge Francis Mathew to issue the maximum $5,000 penalty, then reduce the total award to between $35 billion and $40 billion; she said the maximum possible award would draw due process concerns.
- [11]
McGinn said an award that large would be the single largest verdict in US legal history.
- [12]
Meta's attorney Matthew Nicholson of Williams & Connolly argued that an award in the realm of tens of billions of dollars would result in "a constitutional violation of epic proportions" and drive legitimate business out of the state.
- [13]
Judge Mathew appeared skeptical of Meta's arguments a number of times, questioning Meta's suggestion that New Mexico should take a lesser amount based on a smaller population, and pointing out that many awards Meta referenced were negotiated settlements.
- [14]
The $219 billion theoretical maximum at $5,000 per violation implies a violation count of about 43.8 million.
- [15]
Meta paid $5 billion to settle with the Federal Trade Commission in 2019.
- [16]
Meta inked a $725 million settlement in 2022 to resolve a consumer class action.
- [17]
Meta paid $459 million in an agreement this summer to resolve cases from 46 states and two territories, which did not include New Mexico.
- [18]
New Mexico earlier this year won a separate jury verdict against Meta over claims that Facebook and Instagram harm teen mental health and foster child sexual exploitation, with a $375 million civil penalty.
- [19]
A $40 billion award spread across more than 43 million violations comes to less than $1,000 per violation.
- [20]
The requested $35 billion to $40 billion is 16% to 18% of the $219 billion theoretical maximum.
- [21]
The requested $35 billion to $40 billion is seven to eight times Meta's $5 billion 2019 FTC settlement.
- [22]
Meta's three Cambridge Analytica settlements total about $6.2 billion; the $35 billion low end of New Mexico's request is about 5.7 times that.
Sources
4 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.
- channelnewsasia.comNew Mexico wants Meta to pay up to $40 billion in penalties after data privacy trial
1 article · October 1, 2026
- engadget.comNew Mexico Wants Meta To Pay $40 Billion In Penalties For Cambridge Analytica Scandal
2 articles · October 2, 2026
- news.bloomberglaw.comNew Mexico Seeks $40 Billion Penalty From Meta in Historic Trial
1 article · October 1, 2026
- New Mexico asks judge to order Meta to pay up to $40 billion in Cambridge Analytica case | Local News | santafenewmexican.com
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