Meta jury finds company misled New Mexico residents

A Santa Fe, New Mexico jury has ruled that Meta Platforms misled residents regarding their Facebook data privacy. The decision follows a two-week trial stemming from a 2021 lawsuit initiated by the state's attorney general. The controversy began in 2018 when it emerged that Cambridge Analytica, which played a role in Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, had obtained personal data from up to 87 million Facebook users through a third-party app, without obtaining proper consent.

The lawsuit contended that Meta made assertions that misinformed New Mexico residents about the sharing of their personal information with third parties, the platform's handling of hate speech and misinformation, and the possibility of certain users receiving preferential treatment under the company's policies.

State attorneys contended that Facebook failed to inform consumers that their data was being sold to external entities and permitted hate speech or misinformation to proliferate on the platform when it was financially advantageous. Judge Francis Mathew is now tasked with determining the financial penalties Meta must pay for these alleged violations.

The state's case hinged on particular statements, such as those made by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and company blog posts, which New Mexico alleged led individuals to believe they had control over their shared personal information and that the platform maintained consistent policies for addressing hate speech or misinformation. The state argued that Meta was, in fact, selling data to third-party applications, including the one utilized by Cambridge Analytica, and had exceptions in its policies for certain users.

Meta's legal team countered that the allegedly misleading statements were taken out of context, disregarding passages where the company acknowledged that its handling of misinformation or privacy concerns was not flawless. They claimed that the company is continually working to improve its practices and does not profit from harmful content on its platform.