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Facebook Found Liable for Privacy Deception
Coverage from The Record, Source New Mexico, and others
A New Mexico jury found Facebook liable for nearly 44 million violations of state consumer-protection law in a case over the company’s statements about privacy, user control, and third-party app oversight.
The case grew out of data associated with about 87 million Facebook profiles being obtained through a personality quiz and shared with Cambridge Analytica for political ad targeting. The judge has yet to determine penalties or whether to order changes to Facebook’s practices, and Meta disputes the verdict.
If you read one thing
It establishes the major shift in the case: a jury found Meta liable, while damages and remedies remain pending.
The evidence
It adds the case’s scale and stakes, including the estimated number of affected New Mexico residents and the requested penalties.
Best explainer
Its focus on Zuckerberg’s deposition offers a distinct route into the trial’s questions about third-party access to user data.
Meta’s legal accountability is established; remedies remain pending
A New Mexico jury found Facebook liable for extensive privacy-related deception, including nearly 44 million violations and failures to follow through on promises to investigate apps and notify affected users. The judge will determine damages, while the state’s requested penalties and injunction remain unresolved.
nearly 44 million violations
New Mexico Unfair Practices Act violations found by the jury
“A New Mexico jury on Friday found Facebook violated the law nearly 44 million times by lying to consumers about its data privacy practices.”
$5,000 civil penalties per violation
Maximum penalty under New Mexico's Unfair Practices Act
“The amount of damages the Meta-owned tech giant will ultimately pay will be determined by a judge in the coming weeks, but the verdict could cost Meta billions because each violation of New Mexico's Unfair Practices Act carries up to $5,000 in civil penalties.”
up to $18 billion USD
settlement amount
“In August, Meta agreed to pay up to $18 billion to settle the multistate lawsuit concerning child safety issues. The 130-page settlement also included an agreement releasing Meta from future liability related to the Cambridge Analytica privacy breach, leaving New Mexico as the only state continuing to pursue that case.”
roughly 87 million profiles
profiles whose data was harvested
“New Mexico is the only state to have pushed its case against Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, toward trial. In court documents, the state alleges Facebook failed to alert or protect users from a personality quiz that harvested data from roughly 87 million profiles and sold it to Cambridge Analytica.”
approximately 350,000 residents
New Mexico residents estimated to be affected
“The state estimates that approximately 350,000 New Mexico residents were affected.”
Jury quantifies Meta’s liability at nearly 44 million violations
The jury’s liability finding is now quantified: it found nearly 44 million privacy-related violations, including breaches of Facebook’s promises to investigate apps and notify affected users. A judge will determine damages, with penalties potentially substantial.
Previously
New Mexico's civil trial against Meta revisits Facebook's Cambridge Analytica data exposure, testing allegations that the platform misrepresented third-party access, failed to protect user information, and enabled political targeting. The immediate signal is litigation, while the underlying issue is platform accountability for legacy data practices.
The jury has resolved the central liability question, finding Facebook liable for deceptive privacy and data-sharing statements. Penalties and any required changes to its practices remain for the judge to decide.
The story is reframed from a focus on alleged Cambridge Analytica misconduct and expected testimony to a broader test of Meta’s responsibility for legacy developer access and data-protection practices. Meta’s defense and the unresolved question of liability and remedies are now more prominent.