By Kevin Hendricks
In 2010, Mark Zuckerberg told Facebook users, “We do not and never will sell any of your information to anyone.” A Santa Fe jury didn’t buy it.
Jurors in state District Court found Friday that Meta Platforms Inc., formerly Facebook Inc., willfully violated New Mexico’s Unfair Practices Act 43,899,720 times by misleading users about their data, misinformation, hate speech and more. Each violation carries a penalty of up to $5,000, which puts Meta’s maximum exposure at roughly $219.5 billion.
Attorney General Raúl Torrez called the verdict a landmark moment in holding Big Tech accountable. He said the trial showed how “this company plays fast and loose with the rules.”
Torrez said he instructed his trial team to seek the maximum penalty. State law routes civil penalties like these into a fund that supports New Mexico schools, he said.
What the jury found
Jurors reviewed public statements from Zuckerberg, former COO Sheryl Sandberg and other executives across five categories: users’ control of their data, misinformation, hate speech, equal enforcement of community standards and Meta’s promised investigation after the Cambridge Analytica scandal. They found willful violations in all five.
The Cambridge Analytica category drew the most violations, more than 18.1 million. After the British firm harvested Facebook users’ data to target 2016 election ads, Meta promised to audit suspicious apps, ban developers who misused data and notify everyone affected.
More than 350,000 New Mexicans may have been caught up in that data harvest, Torrez said. His office plans to work with the court to notify them.
Jurors didn’t side with the state on everything. They rejected claims tied to two statements, including one about Meta’s fact-checking partnerships before the 2022 midterms.
Meta’s defense
Meta denied violating the law, according to the court’s jury instructions. The company argued its statements weren’t false or tied to the sale of goods or services, and that federal law and free speech protections shielded it.
What happens next
A judge will decide how much to charge per violation and what changes to order. Torrez expects a ruling within weeks. The state will ask for an independent monitor and an order requiring Meta to correct its past statements.
An appeal could take two to three years, Torrez said, with post-judgment interest piling up the whole time.
The verdict marks the state’s second win over Meta this year. In March, a jury found Meta exposed children to predators and misled consumers about the risks, ordering $375 million in penalties. State District Judge Bryan Biedscheid later ordered another $567 million to address youth mental health harms. Meta posted a $1.8 billion bond instead of paying and asked the court for a new trial.
Friday’s verdict doesn’t pay individual users, but Torrez said residents can still pursue their own claims.
BY THE NUMBERS
- 43,899,720: Violations the jury found
- $5,000: Maximum penalty per violation
- $219.5 billion: Maximum potential penalty
- 18.1 million+: Violations tied to Meta’s Cambridge Analytica response
- 350,000+: New Mexicans potentially affected by the data harvest, per Torrez
- 2: Company statements the jury declined to call deceptive