A New Mexico judge ordered Meta Platforms to pay $25 billion on Wednesday for misleading users about its data privacy practices in a case tied to the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

Judge Francis J. Mathew of the State District Court in Santa Fe handed down the penalty following a September jury verdict that found Meta committed more than 43 million violations of the state's Unfair Practices Act. The jury determined that 26 of 29 statements by the company and its leaders, including CEO Mark Zuckerberg, were false or deceptive regarding user control over personal data and other policies.

New Mexico sued Meta in 2021, alleging the company misled users about data access by third parties after the Cambridge Analytica firm harvested information from tens of millions of Facebook profiles for political targeting. The state sought between $35 billion and $40 billion, but the judge reduced the award from a potential $219 billion calculated under state law.

Attorney General Raúl Torrez called the judgment one of the largest state verdicts against a corporation in U.S. history and said the money will fund New Mexico schools. He described the ruling as a warning to Silicon Valley.

Meta said it plans to appeal and argued the lawsuit seeks to impose a tax on speech while enforcing new rules for online content. A company statement noted the case targets its core business practices and expressed confidence in prevailing on appeal.

The penalty adds to Meta's recent legal setbacks in the state, including separate rulings totaling hundreds of millions related to harms to young users. It stands apart from an $18 billion multistate settlement Meta reached in August with most other states over child safety issues.

Shares of Meta traded higher following the announcement as the company prepared to report quarterly earnings.