A New Mexico jury has found that
Facebook violated the state's Unfair Practices Act (UPA) more than 43 million times, according to the New Mexico Department of Justice.
The verdict in State of New Mexico v. Facebook, Inc. concludes that
Meta's social network made misleading statements to consumers in the state about its data practices, and the company now faces civil penalties that could reach billions of dollars.
The case is tied to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, one of the largest
privacy cases involving a social network. Meta settled the Cambridge Analytica class action years ago, and the British consulting firm went bankrupt almost a decade ago.
What the New Mexico Jury Found Against Facebook
The jury concluded that Facebook misled New Mexico users about how it handled their personal data. The findings cover these areas:
- misleading statements about how Facebook managed users' personal data
- misrepresenting its business practices with third-party companies, through unfair and deceptive practices that gave advertisers easy access to user data
- profiting from misinformation and hate speech while stating that it was actively removing or combating that content
- statements made after Facebook's internal Cambridge Analytica investigation, including promises to probe third-party apps about their data practices and to conduct forensic audits, which the company failed to fulfill
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez said the verdict shows that the rules apply to everyone, including Facebook and other large technology companies. The New Mexico Department of Justice described the jury decision as a landmark verdict.
Meta rejected the outcome. A company spokesperson said Meta's platforms are protected by First Amendment rights covering free speech and users' rights over their data, and that the company will defend itself "against efforts to distort our record."
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