Netanyahu calls for Iran regime's fall as Hormuz stays shut and talks stall Drone strike on Abyei market kills at least 153 Ebola reaches West Africa as Nigeria confirms Bundibugyo case Houthis strike Aden again as US pulls embassy staff from Saudi Arabia Putin frees US citizen and accepts trilateral Ukraine talks after Witkoff visit Venezuela quake death toll likely far higher than official count, NYT analysis finds French 10-year yield passes 5% as spread to Germany widens Macron rebukes Trump over riot comments as France braces for more protests Websites go offline worldwide as PHP releases fixes for critical flaws Oil stays above $105 as Gulf exports recover and US lends fuel reserves Brazil run-off tightens as Lula and Bolsonaro seek to disqualify each other Musk reportedly throttled Starshield for Ukraine as EU demands full restoration Meta ordered to pay $25bn to New Mexico over privacy deception Drone strikes kill three in Ukraine as both sides report new attacks Turkey, Qatar, Pakistan and Indonesia sign Badr defence pact Israeli army chief visits Gaza as food shortages worsen for children Australian MP Helen Haines loses both legs after alleged vehicle attack EU, Greece and Israel condemn Libya-Turkey maritime deal after eastern parliament ratifies it Bank Indonesia holds rate as MSCI downgrade threat weighs on markets Jio Platforms' record IPO fully subscribed within two hours of opening Anthropic posted $80bn first-half loss, WSJ reports Fears grow over $2.7tn of AI 'shadow debt'Super Typhoon Champi, year's strongest storm, heads for Taiwan and China Israel's election days away as race stays tight Musk says SpaceX and Tesla exploring merger Russia to send first diesel cargo to US after sanctions relief Italy sends 500 troops to Milan and adds protest offence as truckers' blockades hit supplies UN says world is on course for 2.6 to 2.8C warming and must cut emissions 18% in four years China drafts curbs on exports of top AI models as DeepSeek open-sources inference framework Student movement challenges Vucic's long rule as Serbia heads to parliamentary election OpenAI says two of its AI agents disabled their own misalignment monitoring Kremlin warned Germany of more sabotage after Leipzig, as Europe weighs counter-drone powers Russian and Chinese premiers sign joint communique in St. Petersburg Stones and Molotov cocktails thrown in Tirana as student protests continue China monitors US warship and Philippine resupply near disputed South China Sea shoals China says rare-earth export controls on Japan aim to prevent 'remilitarization'UK approves Jackdaw North Sea gasfield despite climate criticism Israeli military detains US candidate Brad Lander and dozens of volunteers at West Bank olive harvest UK inflation rises to 3.5% and borrowing tops forecasts before Budget Aid workers warn of unmanageable crisis in besieged Taiz Iraq closes border crossings with Iran Hungary detains Orbán's former central bank chief Matolcsy WMO warns of record-strength El Niño Thousands of Greek students and teachers march over cost of living North Korean army chief inspects southern border and warns of retaliation Netanyahu calls for Iran regime's fall as Hormuz stays shut and talks stall Drone strike on Abyei market kills at least 153 Ebola reaches West Africa as Nigeria confirms Bundibugyo case Houthis strike Aden again as US pulls embassy staff from Saudi Arabia Putin frees US citizen and accepts trilateral Ukraine talks after Witkoff visit Venezuela quake death toll likely far higher than official count, NYT analysis finds French 10-year yield passes 5% as spread to Germany widens Macron rebukes Trump over riot comments as France braces for more protests Websites go offline worldwide as PHP releases fixes for critical flaws Oil stays above $105 as Gulf exports recover and US lends fuel reserves Brazil run-off tightens as Lula and Bolsonaro seek to disqualify each other Musk reportedly throttled Starshield for Ukraine as EU demands full restoration Meta ordered to pay $25bn to New Mexico over privacy deception Drone strikes kill three in Ukraine as both sides report new attacks Turkey, Qatar, Pakistan and Indonesia sign Badr defence pact Israeli army chief visits Gaza as food shortages worsen for children Australian MP Helen Haines loses both legs after alleged vehicle attack EU, Greece and Israel condemn Libya-Turkey maritime deal after eastern parliament ratifies it Bank Indonesia holds rate as MSCI downgrade threat weighs on markets Jio Platforms' record IPO fully subscribed within two hours of opening Anthropic posted $80bn first-half loss, WSJ reports Fears grow over $2.7tn of AI 'shadow debt'Super Typhoon Champi, year's strongest storm, heads for Taiwan and China Israel's election days away as race stays tight Musk says SpaceX and Tesla exploring merger Russia to send first diesel cargo to US after sanctions relief Italy sends 500 troops to Milan and adds protest offence as truckers' blockades hit supplies UN says world is on course for 2.6 to 2.8C warming and must cut emissions 18% in four years China drafts curbs on exports of top AI models as DeepSeek open-sources inference framework Student movement challenges Vucic's long rule as Serbia heads to parliamentary election OpenAI says two of its AI agents disabled their own misalignment monitoring Kremlin warned Germany of more sabotage after Leipzig, as Europe weighs counter-drone powers Russian and Chinese premiers sign joint communique in St. Petersburg Stones and Molotov cocktails thrown in Tirana as student protests continue China monitors US warship and Philippine resupply near disputed South China Sea shoals China says rare-earth export controls on Japan aim to prevent 'remilitarization'UK approves Jackdaw North Sea gasfield despite climate criticism Israeli military detains US candidate Brad Lander and dozens of volunteers at West Bank olive harvest UK inflation rises to 3.5% and borrowing tops forecasts before Budget Aid workers warn of unmanageable crisis in besieged Taiz Iraq closes border crossings with Iran Hungary detains Orbán's former central bank chief Matolcsy WMO warns of record-strength El Niño Thousands of Greek students and teachers march over cost of living North Korean army chief inspects southern border and warns of retaliation

Symbolic image: Meta ordered to pay $25bn to New Mexico over privacy deception

Symbolic image

Meta ordered to pay $25bn to New Mexico over privacy deception

5 sources

A New Mexico judge ordered Meta on Wednesday to pay $25 billion for misleading Facebook users about data privacy. A jury had found the company liable in September.

Judge Francis Mathew cited the "extraordinary" number of deliberate violations, their duration, the involvement of Facebook executives and the "intentional and systematic" nature of the false statements, according to a ruling excerpt published by MLex. The case stems from the Cambridge Analytica data harvest. New Mexico had sought $35 billion to $40 billion, while Meta argued for no more than about $3.4 billion and called a tenfold higher penalty unconstitutional. Attorney General Raúl Torrez called the sum "one of the largest, if not the single largest state verdict against a company in American history."

Interest and appeal

According to Le Monde, the sum grows by $3.75 billion a year (15% interest) until paid. Meta has not commented on the amount but had said it would appeal, and Torrez acknowledged the money would be tied up during an appeal. Meta's shares traded 2% higher, the Associated Press reports.

Remedies still open

The judge has not yet ruled on the state's requested remedies, including an audit of Meta's handling of user data. Torrez said the penalties go to education spending. The ruling comes on top of $942 million ordered this year in a separate child-safety case in New Mexico, which Meta is appealing.