A New Mexico jury found Facebook liable on Friday for deceiving users about privacy protections, ruling on over 43 million violations of state consumer protection law following a two-week trial in Santa Fe centered on the Cambridge Analytica data harvest.
The verdict represents a major legal hurdle for Meta, the parent company of Facebook, which now faces potential civil penalties determined by a judge during an upcoming hearing. Prosecutors asked for the maximum penalty of $5,000 per violation, a figure that Attorney General Raúl Torrez noted could climb significantly depending on the court’s final calculation.
Santa Fe Trial Traces Cambridge Analytica Harvest
The legal battle in Santa Fe focused on a third-party personality quiz that harvested data from roughly 87 million profiles. That information was subsequently sold to Cambridge Analytica, a political consulting firm whose clients included Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. Jurors concluded that Facebook made deceptive statements regarding data protection that impacted New Mexico’s entire population of more than two million residents.
State prosecutors argued that the tech giant misled the public about investigations into third-party app developers harvesting user data in the wake of the scandal. For years, Facebook operated as if the rules that apply to everyone else didn’t apply to them. Today, a jury of New Mexicans said otherwise,
Torrez said in a statement published by CBS News.
Meta Defends Record as Financial Stakes Loom
During closing arguments, defense attorneys maintained that the state’s evidence was outdated, noting that New Mexico had spent five years gathering material but found only one other instance of a data breach. Meta spokesperson Alex Burgos said in an email reported by the Associated Press that the company disagreed with the outcome.
Meta also emphasized free speech arguments during the proceedings. In a deposition played for the jury, CEO Mark Zuckerberg asserted that the platform maintains strong systems for content moderation. Burgos echoed those sentiments in a post-verdict statement, emphasizing that the company operates forums for free expression backed by a First Amendment right to manage platform communities.
Weighing the Financial Impact and Previous Settlements
Jurors did not rule entirely in the state’s favor, rejecting claims that Facebook made false statements about removing harmful content, such as COVID-19 misinformation. Still, the finding of more than 43 million violations leaves open the possibility of massive financial penalties. Legal experts point out that the company’s high profit margins complicate the ultimate financial deterrent effect.
The trial follows a broader wave of legal scrutiny for Meta. In August, the company agreed to pay up to $18 billion to settle a multistate lawsuit regarding child safety issues. That 130-page agreement included a release from future liability related to the Cambridge Analytica privacy breach, but New Mexico carved out its own path as the only state to push forward with an independent trial after Florida declined to sign the multi-state pact.