New Mexico jury finds Facebook deceived users about data privacy nearly 44 million times
New Mexico jurors found Facebook broke the state's Unfair Practices Act nearly 44 million times, at up to $5,000 per violation. A judge sets the penalty in the coming weeks from findings that Facebook's public statements about data sharing misled its users.
The Watch · Security desk
What happened
- Jurors found Facebook misled users by telling them they controlled how their information was shared and that it did not buy or sell their private data, particularly with advertisers.
- The jury found Facebook did not keep post-Cambridge Analytica promises to investigate data-heavy apps, run forensic audits, cut off developers who misused data and alert affected users.
- New Mexico already won a $942 million civil penalty from Meta in March, in a kids' online safety case brought under the state's consumer-protection laws.
Why it matters
- What it costs cost Meta's bill passes $1 billion at any per-violation penalty above about $23, a small fraction of the $5,000 the statute allows.
- Who's exposed exposure Post-incident pledges such as forensic audits and user notification now carry consumer-protection exposure in New Mexico when a company does not follow through on them.
- Who has to decide decision Besides a per-violation figure, the judge must rule on New Mexico's request to put Meta's future data handling under court-ordered changes.
- What it sets up precedent Torrez is offering the verdict to every state, and a per-violation count that held up before a jury gives other attorneys general a model for privacy claims.
Next story · Security · Oct 1
New Mexico asks for up to $40 billion after jury counts 43 million Meta violationsConfirmed4 publishers
Nearly 44 million violations at up to $5,000 each put the statutory ceiling just under $220 billion [4][13]. The judge does not have to go near it [4]. At $50 a violation, one percent of the maximum, the total still comes to about $2.2 billion [14]. The Record's report does not explain how jurors arrived at the count [1].
Meta has paid large sums in this area before [19]. It settled a separate kids' online safety case with California in August for $17 billion plus a commitment to reforms [18]. The Record puts Meta's penalties across privacy cases in the tens of billions of dollars, and says this verdict could add substantially to that total [19][5].
The Cambridge Analytica findings are the part closest to incident response. Facebook made its app-investigation promises in the aftermath of that scandal [2]. The case ran under New Mexico's Unfair Practices Act [4], so a post-incident pledge was judged the way any consumer claim is judged: against what the company actually did. The jury found Facebook did not carry out the steps it promised [2].
The content-moderation findings matter less for data handling. According to the attorney general's press release, jurors found Facebook "willfully" deceived consumers about enforcing its community standards, including the claim that it offered "no special protections for particular groups and no exceptions to its policies for politicians or newsworthiness" [9]. Other statements found false included that Facebook deleted "harmful" misinformation and did not profit from misinformation or hate [17].
"For years, Facebook operated as if the rules that apply to everyone else didn't apply to them," Torrez said in a statement [10]. He called the result "a historic verdict, not just for New Mexico, but for every state fighting to hold Big Tech accountable" [11].
So far this is one jury in one state, and no penalty has been set [1][3]. A Meta spokesperson did not immediately respond to The Record's request for comment [8].
What to watch
- The judge's per-violation penalty, due in the coming weeks, which decides whether the bill lands near $1 billion or far above it.
- Whether the judge grants New Mexico's request for court-ordered changes to Meta's data privacy practices.
- Meta's response to the verdict, including any challenge; the company had not commented when The Record published.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence72
- Adoption
- Not scored
- Hype gap+20
- Incentives55
- Confidence66
Perspective Coverage
5 publishers- Builder
- Builder 11%
- Operator
- Operator 45%
- Investor
- Investor 44%
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
A New Mexico jury on Friday found Facebook violated the law nearly 44 million times by lying to consumers about its data privacy practices.
- [2]
The jury held that Facebook lied about its probe into third-party applications after the Cambridge Analytica scandal, finding it did not honor promises to investigate apps that accessed significant amounts of user data, conduct forensic audits, stop working with developers who misused data and alert people whose information may have been impacted.
- [3]
The amount of damages Meta will ultimately pay will be determined by a judge in the coming weeks.
- [4]
Each violation of New Mexico's Unfair Practices Act carries up to $5,000 in civil penalties.
- [5]
The verdict could cost Meta billions and could substantially add to the tens of billions in penalties Meta has already racked up.
- [6]
The jury found that Facebook misled consumers by telling them they controlled how their information was shared and that it did not buy or sell users' private data, particularly with advertisers.
- [7]
In March, a New Mexico court ordered Meta to pay $942 million in civil penalties for breaking New Mexico's consumer protection laws, in a kids' online safety matter.
- [8]
A spokesperson for Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
- [9]
The jury determined that Facebook "willfully" deceived consumers by claiming it strictly adhered to its "community standards" policy, falsely asserting it offered "no special protections for particular groups and no exceptions to its policies for politicians or newsworthiness."
- [10]
"For years, Facebook operated as if the rules that apply to everyone else didn't apply to them."
- [11]
"This is a historic verdict, not just for New Mexico, but for every state fighting to hold Big Tech accountable."
- [12]
In addition to fines, New Mexico is pressing the judge to order Facebook to make sweeping changes to its data privacy practices in the future.
- [13]
The statutory ceiling on penalties is just under $220 billion.
- [14]
At $50 per violation, one percent of the $5,000 maximum, the total is about $2.2 billion.
- [15]
Any per-violation penalty above about $23 takes the total past $1 billion.
- [16]
Jurors held that Facebook's statements about hate speech and misinformation were "willfully deceptive," according to a press release from the office of New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez.
- [17]
Facebook promises the jury found to be lies included claims that it did not profit from misinformation or hate, that it deleted "harmful" misinformation, that it did not tolerate hate speech and that it had no incentive to retain hateful content.
- [18]
In August, Meta settled a separate kids' online safety case with California for $17 billion and a commitment to make significant reforms.
- [19]
Meta has already racked up tens of billions in financial penalties for data privacy cases of this type.
Sources
5 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.
- dexerto.comFacebook could owe billions after jury finds platform responsible for 43 million privacy & content violations - Dexerto
2 articles · October 1, 2026
- independent.co.ukMeta suffers another legal loss after jury finds Facebook liable for deceiving users | The Independent
1 article · September 25, 2026
- news.bloomberglaw.comMeta Loses New Mexico Trial Over Cambridge Analytica Scandal (2)
1 article · September 25, 2026
- securityweek.comNew Mexico Jury Finds Facebook Liable for Deceiving Users About Privacy Protections
2 articles · September 28, 2026
- therecord.mediaNew Mexico jury finds Meta deceived consumers about data privacy practices
1 article · September 28, 2026
Topics and entities
Entities
- Cambridge Analytica
- New Mexico Department of Justice
- New Mexico Unfair Practices Act
- Meta
- Raul Torrez