New Mexico jury finds Facebook liable for over 43 million violations of consumer protection law—and Meta could owe over $200 billion in penalties

A New Mexico jury on Friday ruled Facebook liable for deceiving users over 43 million times on complaints of consumer protection law violations, potentially leading to penalties exceeding $200 billion if the judge awards the maximum per violation. The two-week trial in Santa Fe focused on the social media giant's actions regarding a data breach caused by a third-party personality quiz that collected data from roughly 87 million profiles and sold it to a political consulting firm, Cambridge Analytica, which had worked for the 2016 Donald Trump campaign.

The jury concluded that Facebook made misleading statements about data protection and failed to act on investigations of third-party app developers who harvested user data following the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Despite claims from Facebook's legal team that the state's evidence was outdated and that they had only one recorded case of a data breach in five years, the jury found the state's allegations credible.

The defense successfully argued that the state had not proven Facebook falsely claimed to remove harmful content or misinformation about COVID-19. If the judge grants the maximum $5,000 penalty per violation, Facebook could be ordered to pay over $200 billion, with interest potentially accruing if the company decides to appeal.