On October 1, 2026, Judge Francis Mathew postponed the penalty ruling in New Mexico’s case against Facebook, pending further filings. State attorneys reportedly said they would accept $35 billion—a position in the penalty proceeding, not a court-ordered amount.
The judge postponed the penalty ruling
The October 1 hearing followed the jury’s liability verdict. State attorneys’ reported willingness to accept $35 billion was part of their position on the penalty; Meta’s attorneys argued that the proposed amount was unconstitutional and excessive.
What the jury decided
On September 25, 2026, a New Mexico jury found Facebook liable for 43,899,725 violations of the state’s Unfair Practices Act. The jury decided liability and the number of violations; the judge was to determine any civil penalty.
The New Mexico Department of Justice said the jury’s findings concerned deceptive statements about Facebook’s collection, protection, sharing and use of personal information, as well as misinformation, hate speech, Community Standards and the company’s investigation of third-party applications.
What the statutory maximum means
The New Mexico Department of Justice said the law permits a civil penalty of up to $5,000 per willful violation. Multiplying that maximum by the jury’s 43,899,725 violations gives a theoretical arithmetic ceiling of $219,498,625,000, if the maximum applied to every violation. The judge determines the penalty.
The state also sought an injunction to prevent similar practices.
