US jury finds Meta liable for deceptive practices over user data claims

A jury in the US state of New Mexico found Meta liable on Friday for unfair or deceptive trade practices over misleading statements assuring Facebook users that they maintained control over their own personal data, US media reported.

Jurors determined that US social media company, which is the parent organization of Facebook as well as Instagram and WhatsApp, committed 2.1 million statutory violations under the state Unfair Practices Act, a tally mirroring New Mexico's total population, after hearing evidence that users faced deception regarding privacy safeguards.

The presiding judge will now determine financial penalties, with state prosecutors seeking the maximum statutory assessment of $5,000 per violation. Such an award could expose the technology conglomerate to billions of dollars in fresh liability beyond prior child safety settlements.

"Facebook’s data breach didn’t just expose private information, it revealed a pattern of misrepresentation about how user data was collected, shared, and exploited," New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez said when the trial began on Sept. 9.

The lawsuit, originally brought in 2021 following the 2018 Cambridge Analytica controversy, asserted that unauthorized political data harvesting affected approximately 350,000 residents without valid consent. The Cambridge Analytica scandal involved the usage of personal data for targeted political advertising during the 2016 US presidential election and the UK's Brexit referendum.

Meta recently concluded an $18 billion multistate accord resolving claims that its platforms intentionally addicted young users.