Jury finds Facebook liable for deceiving users in Cambridge Analytica case

A jury in Santa Fe, New Mexico, found Facebook liable on Friday for deceiving users about privacy protections on the platform, in a case connected to the Cambridge Analytica data scandal. The two-week trial is now over, and the judge will decide how much Meta, Facebook's parent company, must pay. State attorneys are asking for the maximum penalty of $5,000 per violation.

What the case was about

Prosecutors said Facebook deceived users about a data breach that began with a third-party personality quiz. The app harvested data from roughly 87 million profiles and sold it to the political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica, which used it to build targeted political advertising. The now-defunct firm's clients included Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.

Jurors sided with the state, finding that Facebook's failure to protect user data affected New Mexico's entire population of more than 2 million people. They also found the company misled the public about investigations into data brokers after the scandal broke, holding it liable for over 2 million violations.

Reactions from both sides

"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," New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez said in a statement. He called the verdict historic, not just for New Mexico but for every state fighting to hold Big Tech accountable.

A Meta spokesperson told CBS News the company disagreed with the verdict and would keep defending "against efforts to distort our records." The spokesperson said free speech issues featured very prominently in the case, and that the First Amendment gives the company the right to manage its platforms in what it sees as the best interest of its community.

In closing arguments, Facebook's lawyers claimed the state's evidence was outdated and that New Mexico, despite five years to gather material, had failed to find more than one other instance of a data breach.

A widening legal fight

The verdict lands amid a broader push by states against Meta. In August, the company agreed to pay up to $18 billion to settle a multistate lawsuit over child safety issues. The 130-page settlement also released Meta from future liability tied to the Cambridge Analytica privacy breach, leaving New Mexico as the only state pursuing a case; Florida was the only other state that refused to sign, saying the deal was not tough enough.

Earlier this year, New Mexico won judgments totaling $942 million from Meta in a two-phase trial over the company's safety protections for minors, and the court ordered new safeguards, including age-verification and time limits on its platforms. "Let this be a warning to every technology company doing business in our state," Torrez said. "If you lie to New Mexicans about how you use their data, we will find out, and we will hold you accountable."