New Mexico awarded $25 billion from Meta

(NBC, KYMA) - A New Mexico judge has ordered Meta to pay the state a civil penalty of $25 billion after a jury found the company misled users about the privacy and security of their data.

A New Mexico jury found the tech company guilty of more than 43 million violations in a Cambridge Analytica Data scandal from more than a decade ago.

According to reports, Meta gathered data through a personality quiz on Facebook and later handed it over to the consulting firm. The breach affected around 350,000 New Mexicans.

Meta was initially charged the maximum civil penalty of $219 billion before it was reduced. Interest on the penalty will accrue at the rate of 15% until the fine is paid off in full.

The state said each violation could carry a maximum penalty of $5,000 under state law.

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez said the violations fell into five categories and could add up quickly under that formula.