A New Mexico judge on Wednesday, Oct. 21, ordered Meta to pay $25 billion in penalties in a data privacy case stemming from the Cambridge Analytica scandal, CNBC reported.

Why it matters: It is the Menlo Park company's biggest payout yet tied to the scandal, TechCrunch reported, and interest of 15% a year accrues until it is paid.

How the number was reached

  • A Santa Fe jury found in September that Meta misled state residents about how it collects and protects user data.
  • The jury found more than 43 million violations of the state's Unfair Practices Act, each carrying up to $5,000.
  • The filing showed the state was awarded $219.5 billion, but the penalty was reduced to $25 billion, CNBC reported.

Judge Francis Mathew wrote that "Facebook did not conduct the comprehensive investigation that it promised" after the Cambridge Analytica revelations.

What both sides say

"We may have paid for the construction of schools for the next 100 years," New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez told reporters, according to TechCrunch.

Meta will appeal. "This ruling, and the Attorney General's approach to this enforcement, makes it all but impossible to do business in the state of New Mexico," chief legal officer C.J. Mahoney said.

More on Meta this week: Meta's third-quarter results.