Facebook's parent company, Meta, is facing trial in New Mexico over privacy concerns stemming from the 2016 presidential election, when a political consulting firm harvested user data to create targeted advertisements. Opening statements in the Santa Fe state court began Wednesday.
New Mexico is the sole state pursuing a trial against Meta regarding the Cambridge Analytica data breach. This comes weeks after 48 other U.S. states reached a settlement with the company concerning child safety and privacy issues across its platforms. Florida was the only other state not to sign the settlement, arguing it was not stringent enough.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez stated that "Facebook’s data breach didn’t just expose private information, it revealed a pattern of misrepresentation about how user data was collected, shared, and exploited." The state contends that Facebook failed to notify or protect users from a personality quiz that collected data from approximately 87 million Facebook profiles and subsequently sold it to Cambridge Analytica.
Cambridge Analytica, a now-defunct firm, utilized this data for targeted advertising during the 2016 election, including for Donald Trump's presidential campaign. Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, derives almost all of its revenue from advertising sales.
The trial is anticipated to last about four weeks and will feature a video deposition from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. New Mexico is seeking the maximum civil penalties allowable under the state's Unfair Practices Act, which could amount to $5,000 per violation, in addition to an injunction to prevent future user data breaches. The state estimates that roughly 350,000 New Mexicans had their data compromised.
This legal action proceeds after Meta agreed in August to pay up to $18 billion to settle a multi-state lawsuit focused on child safety. That settlement, detailed in a 130-page document, included a clause where the participating states agreed to release Meta from future liability related to the Cambridge Analytica privacy breach, leaving New Mexico to pursue its case independently.
Earlier this year, New Mexico secured $942 million from Meta through a two-phase trial concerning the company's safeguards for minors. The court also mandated that Meta implement new protections, such as age verification technology and usage time limits on its platforms.