New Mexico jury finds Facebook liable in Cambridge Analytica case
A jury in New Mexico found Facebook liable on Friday for deceiving users about privacy protections on its platform. The two-week trial centered on a data breach involving a third-party personality quiz that harvested data from approximately 87 million profiles, which was then sold to the political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica for targeted advertising. New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez described the verdict as historic, stating that Facebook operated as if rules did not apply to them, ultimately impacting the state's population of over 2 million people. It is now up to a judge to determine the financial penalty, with state attorneys seeking $5,000 per violation. A spokesperson for Meta stated that the company disagrees with the verdict and will continue to defend itself against efforts to distort its records, citing First Amendment rights to manage its platforms. New Mexico remains the only state to pursue this case following a broader multistate settlement that released Meta from future liability regarding the Cambridge Analytica breach.