US court orders Meta to pay a record $25 billion for misleading Facebook users about control over their data; Meta will appeal

A judge in the US state of New Mexico has ordered Meta, the company behind Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, to pay $25 billion. It is the largest fine the company has ever received.

What the case is about. The case goes back to the Cambridge Analytica scandal of 2018, when data from up to 87 million Facebook profiles was taken without permission and used to build voter profiles. The court did not punish Meta for that data loss itself. It punished Meta for telling users, over many years, that they controlled their data and that it was not shared with outside parties without their permission, when that was not true. The judge found the misleading statements were deliberate and lasted from 2010 to 2021.

What this is not. This is not news of a new leak or a fresh danger to your account. It is a ruling about past behavior. Meta says the case is eight years old and that the platform is safer now, but the sources give no independent check of that claim.

Putting the number in context. The state asked for up to $40 billion, and the full penalty was first calculated at $219 billion before the judge reduced it. Meta argued it should pay no more than $3.4 billion. The final amount is roughly what Meta earns in profit in a single quarter and about 1.4% of the company's stock market value. Meta also reported record revenue on the day of the ruling.

What happens next. Meta plans to appeal, so the fine is not final. While it remains unpaid, 15% interest is added, which makes a long appeal costly. Under New Mexico's constitution, money from consumer protection fines must go to education, so state schools could benefit.

Meta still faces other lawsuits in the US, especially about child safety on its platforms. For users, the useful takeaway is simple: be careful about what you share online and check your privacy settings.