New Mexico jury finds Meta liable over Facebook privacy claims
publishers 18articles 20first reported 25 Sep, 18:15 UTCdeveloping since 26 Sep · 3 editions
A New Mexico jury on Friday found Facebook liable for misleading users about its privacy protections and handling of personal data connected to the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
The two-week trial in Santa Fe focused on a third-party personality quiz that harvested information from roughly 87 million Facebook profiles. The data was sold to Cambridge Analytica, a now-defunct political consulting firm whose clients included Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Jurors sided with state prosecutors, finding that Facebook failed to protect user data and misled the public about its investigations of data brokers. The Santa Fe New Mexican reported that the jury found 43 million violations, while CBS News reported more than 2 million violations related to misleading statements about the investigations.
The judge will determine the financial penalty. New Mexico’s lawyers are seeking the maximum of $5,000 for each violation.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez called the decision a historic verdict and said technology companies would be held accountable for misleading residents about use of their data.
Meta, Facebook’s parent company, said it disagreed with the verdict and would continue defending itself against what it called efforts to distort its record. The company also said First Amendment issues were prominent in the case and maintained that it has a right to manage its platforms while protecting user information and giving users control over their data.
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Written from 6 articles, 1 with the publisher's own text; 5 independent newsrooms once syndicated copies count as one; this version written within the hour the record first saw the story; the editor kept it as written.
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