Mathew found that a penalty of more than $219bn was warranted, based on state law, but he reduced the figure to $25bn. In court filings, Meta urged Mathew to cap the penalties at $3.45bn, saying a higher penalty ran the risk of scaring businesses out of the state.
Meta has faced a wave of lawsuits over the course of the year related to user safety, with the culmination of several cases being referred to as a big tobacco moment for social media.
Settlements over the social networks' safety are growing so large that Meta is reporting significant drags on its business.
In August, the social media giant agreed to pay $17bn to settle a nationwide lawsuit by dozens of state attorneys general, who alleged it intentionally designed addictive products that harmed children.
Meta has been ordered to pay $25bn to New Mexico following a high-profile legal dispute over user data privacy and platform safety.
Jurors on 25 September found that 26 of 29 statements made by the company and its leadership on those issues were misleading.
In its quarterly earnings report, issued the same afternoon as the announcement of the judge's order, the company said its net income came in significantly below Wall Street analysts' expectations because of a $9.9bn settlement payment in the US. Despite the hefty payments, Meta still reported a 26% increase in quarterly revenue up to $64.6bn.
The state said the company knew that third parties had broad access to users' personal data, and it tolerated hate speech or other harmful content when it benefited the company's bottom line. The company said in court filings that the evidence showed Meta does not sell user data and New Mexico did not prove that any consumer had actually been misled.