New Mexico Jury Finds Meta Misled Users in Cambridge Analytica Case
A jury in Santa Fe, New Mexico, found Meta Platforms liable on Friday for misleading state residents over its data practices, misinformation controls, and hate speech policies in a verdict stemming from the 2016 Cambridge Analytica data harvest. Jurors determined that Meta committed more than 43 million violations of state consumer protection laws after reviewing executive statements and corporate blog posts.
The trial concluded after two weeks in state District Court, revisiting allegations that arose from revelations that political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica improperly harvested personal information from as many as 87 million Facebook users. New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez brought the lawsuit in 2021 after the state opted out of a broader multi-state settlement.
Jury Findings on Misleading Statements and Violations
Jurors examined 34 distinct statements made by Meta leadership, including comments by CEO Mark Zuckerberg and former Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg. The panel found that Meta made deceptive assertions across categories covering user data control, misinformation management, hate speech rules, and enforcement consistency. Out of the statements evaluated under the state Unfair Practices Act, jurors concluded that tens of millions of interactions constituted willful violations and unconscionable trade practices.
Under the Unfair Practices Act, according to court documents, the attorney general may seek a civil penalty of up to five thousand dollars for each violation involving willful acts. Additionally, court records show that the judge imposed a five-year mandate requiring specific operational changes and regular compliance reports.
The highest concentration of violations, exceeding 18.1 million, stemmed from Meta's promises and public statements following the Cambridge Analytica scandal regarding how it audited third-party applications and notified affected individuals. New Mexico prosecutors estimated that more than 350,000 residents of the state were potentially caught up in the underlying data harvest.
Potential Penalties and Judicial Review
District Judge Francis Mathew will now determine the scale of civil penalties. Under New Mexico law, statutory fines can reach up to $5,000 per violation. With the jury recording nearly 43.9 million total violations, the state's maximum theoretical exposure reached approximately $219.5 billion.
Attorney General Torrez stated that his office will push for maximum penalties, with funds routed into state educational programs. Beyond monetary fines, the state intends to request judicial orders forcing Meta to issue corrections for past public misstatements and submit to an independent audit regarding how it manages user data and third-party app permissions.
Defense Arguments and Broader Legal Context
Attorneys representing Meta argued during the proceedings that the state relied on cherry-picked snippets of corporate statements that ignored broader context, noting that company executives had previously acknowledged limitations in privacy management. A Meta spokesperson stated that the firm disagreed with the verdict and would continue defending its record, maintaining that its platforms operate as forums for free expression protected by the First Amendment.
The verdict represents the second major trial defeat for Meta in Santa Fe within a six-month period. In March, a separate jury ordered the company to pay $375 million over child safety and platform addiction allegations, followed by judicial orders requiring hundreds of millions more in remediation funds and platform safeguards. While Meta subsequently settled with 47 states and Washington, D.C., for roughly $16.7 billion to resolve child safety and related Cambridge Analytica claims, New Mexico pursued its separate litigation through trial.