New Mexico jury weighs billions in damages against Facebook over data breach
Closing arguments concluded in New Mexico's trial accusing Facebook of misleading users about privacy after a third-party quiz harvested data from millions of profiles.
In a New Mexico courtroom, prosecutors finished their closing statements in a case that claims Facebook misled users about how their information is protected after a third-party quiz harvested data from about 87 million profiles. The state alleges the data was sold to Cambridge Analytica, which later worked on the 2016 Donald Trump campaign, and seeks the maximum civil fine of $5,000 per violation and a court order to prevent future breaches.
Facebook's defense maintains the platform does not sell personal data, points to recent privacy upgrades, and argues only a single breach was identified. Evidence included a deposition of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg discussing content-moderation practices. If the jury finds liability, the company could be ordered to pay billions, adding to earlier multistate settlements on child-safety issues.
