Glonce

Jury finds Facebook liable for deceiving users in Cambridge Analytica case

policyThe Glonce editorsHacker News🔥67Glonce rating67Impact65Novelty45Relevance50Surprise40Players72Credibility88
Jury finds Facebook liable for deceiving users in Cambridge Analytica case

A New Mexico jury on Friday found Facebook liable for deceiving users about privacy protections on the platform, following a two-week trial in Santa Fe. The case centered on a third-party personality quiz that harvested data from roughly 87 million profiles and sold it to political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica, whose clients included the 2016 Trump campaign, to generate targeted ads. Jurors sided with prosecutors, finding that Facebook's failure to protect users' data impacted New Mexico's entire population of more than 2 million people. Jurors separately found Facebook liable for over 2 million violations for misleading the public about investigations into data brokers that followed the Cambridge Analytica scandal. It is now up to the judge to set the penalty; state attorneys are asking for the maximum $5,000 per violation. New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez called the verdict historic, saying, "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," and adding it mattered "not just for New Mexico, but for every state fighting to hold Big Tech accountable." During closing arguments, Facebook's lawyers argued the state's evidence was outdated, saying that despite five years to gather material, New Mexico had found only one other instance of a data breach. A Meta spokesperson told CBS News the company disagreed with the verdict and would keep defending "against efforts to distort our records," adding that free speech issues "featured very prominently" in the case and that Meta has "a First Amendment right to manage those platforms" while "prioritizing free speech, protecting our users' information and giving them control over their data." The case exists because New Mexico was the only state to pursue Cambridge Analytica claims after Meta agreed in August to pay up to $18 billion to settle a separate multistate lawsuit over child safety; buried in that 130-page settlement was a clause releasing Meta from future liability tied to Cambridge Analytica, which New Mexico did not accept. Florida was the only other state that declined to sign that settlement, saying it was not tough enough on Meta. Also this year, New Mexico won judgments totaling $942 million from Meta in a separate two-phase trial over safety protections for minors, with the court also ordering Meta to add age-verification technology and time limits on its platforms. Torrez said, "Let this be a warning to every technology company doing business in our state. If you lie to New Mexicans about how you use their data, we will find out, and we will hold you accountable."

Key facts

  • A New Mexico jury found Facebook liable for deceiving users about privacy protections tied to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, which harvested data from about 87 million profiles for the 2016 Trump campaign's consulting firm.
  • Jurors found Facebook's data failures impacted all of New Mexico's population of more than 2 million and found the company liable for over 2 million violations for misleading the public about data broker investigations.
  • State attorneys are seeking the maximum $5,000 penalty per violation; the judge, not the jury, will set the final amount.
  • New Mexico pursued this case because Meta's $18 billion multistate child-safety settlement in August had quietly released Meta from future Cambridge Analytica liability; Florida also declined to sign that settlement.
  • New Mexico separately won $942 million in judgments from Meta this year over child safety protections, with court-ordered age verification and platform time limits.

Why it matters

This is a rare instance of a state actually taking Facebook's Cambridge Analytica conduct to a jury verdict, years after the scandal broke, at a moment when Meta had otherwise settled its way out of broad liability through the $18 billion multistate child-safety deal. New Mexico's attorney general is framing the verdict as a template for other states to hold major tech platforms accountable through litigation rather than settlement.

Who it affects

The verdict directly affects Meta/Facebook, which now faces a judge-determined penalty across more than 2 million found violations. It also affects other state attorneys general watching whether litigation, rather than joining multistate settlements, can extract more accountability, and it affects New Mexico residents whose data was found to have been mishandled.

How to use it

For other state regulators or plaintiffs' attorneys, the case is a signal that opting out of a broad multistate settlement to pursue independent litigation can produce a jury finding of liability, as happened here and in New Mexico's earlier $942 million child-safety judgments against Meta.

How solid is it

The account comes from a CBS News report describing the jury's findings, both sides' arguments, and on-record statements from New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez and a Meta spokesperson, giving both the prosecution's and Meta's positions directly.

Risks and caveats

The penalty amount has not yet been set; only the state's request for the $5,000-per-violation maximum is known, and the judge could set a lower figure. Meta disputes the verdict and argues the state's evidence was outdated, having found only one other data breach instance despite five years to investigate, and Meta frames part of its defense around First Amendment platform-management rights.

“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.”

— Raul Torrez, New Mexico Attorney General