On October 1, 2026, New Mexico asked a judge to impose $35 billion to $40 billion in civil penalties against Meta. Judge Francis Mathew postponed a decision while awaiting further filings from both sides. The request followed a jury finding of more than 43 million consumer-protection violations involving Facebook’s privacy representations.
New Mexico sought up to $40 billion
The state requested a total between $35 billion and $40 billion. State attorneys reportedly said they would accept $35 billion. New Mexico had initially sought the statutory maximum of $5,000 per violation before presenting an aggregate request.
As of the October 1 hearing, Judge Francis Mathew had postponed the penalty decision pending further filings.
What the jury found—and what Meta requested
On September 25, 2026, a New Mexico jury found Facebook liable for more than 43 million violations of the state’s consumer-protection law. The case concerned Facebook’s representations about user-data privacy. The jury’s liability finding and the later penalty decision are separate steps in the case.
Meta reportedly asked the judge to cap the penalty at $3.45 billion. That was the company’s requested limit; New Mexico’s $35 billion to $40 billion figure was the state’s request.
What the case means for Facebook users
This is a state consumer-protection enforcement case, not a class-action settlement. The civil penalty request is not a direct compensation offer or payment to Facebook users.
