Jury finds Facebook liable for deceiving users in Cambridge Analytica case

Updated on: September 25, 2026 / 6:26 PM EDT / CBS/AP

A New Mexico jury on Friday found Facebook liable for deceiving users about privacy protections on the social media platform.

It is now up to the judge to determine how much the company would pay, with attorneys representing the state asking for the maximum $5,000 penalty per violation.

The two-week trial in Santa Fe centered on accusations that Facebook deceived users about a data breach stemming from a third-party personality quiz that harvested data from roughly 87 million profiles and sold it to a political consulting firm, Cambridge Analytica, to generate targeted ads. The now-defunct firm's clients included the 2016 campaign for President Trump.

Jurors sided with prosecutors, finding Facebook's failure to protect users' data impacted New Mexico's entire population of more than 2 million people.

"For years, Facebook operated as if the rules that apply to everyone else didn't apply to them. Today, a jury of New Mexicans said otherwise," New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez said in a statement. "This is a historic verdict, not just for New Mexico, but for every state fighting to hold Big Tech accountable."

Jurors also found Facebook misled the public about…

Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/moneywatch/