A Santa Fe jury found Meta Platforms liable for 43.9 million willful violations of New Mexico's Unfair Practices Act over its handling of user data, misinformation, and its response to the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The maximum statutory penalty of $5,000 per violation implies theoretical exposure of approximately $219.5 billion, though state attorneys subsequently requested $35 billion to $40 billion, and neither figure represents a penalty awarded by the court. The final penalty will be decided by a judge in a separate phase, and it marks New Mexico's second win against Meta this year, after a March child-safety case produced a $375 million award and a $567 million abatement order that the company is contesting after seeking permission to post a $1.8 billion bond. The state's revised request of $35 billion to $40 billion equals roughly 39% to 44% of Meta's $90 billion in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities, though the earlier March award came in at less than 20% of what prosecutors sought. Meta's forward P/E sits about 7% above its 5-year average, hedge fund holders fell from 262 at the end of Q1 2026 to 254 at the end of Q2 2026, and short interest was just 1.31% of float as of August 31, 2026.
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Western Digital CorporationMeta Platforms Inc.New Mexico jury found Meta liable for 43.9 million willful violations of the Unfair Practices Act, with the state seeking $35-40 billion in penalties.
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