New Mexico Jury Finds Facebook Liable for Deceiving Users in Cambridge Analytica Case

A Santa Fe jury on Friday, September 25, 2026, found Facebook liable for deceiving users about privacy protections on the platform, closing a two-week trial that stemmed from the Cambridge Analytica data-harvesting scandal, as reported by CBS News. Jurors determined that the company's failure to protect user data affected New Mexico's entire population of more than 2 million people and found Meta liable for over 2 million violations of the state's consumer protection law, one for each resident. The case centered on accusations that Facebook deceived users about a data breach involving a third-party personality quiz that harvested information from roughly 87 million profiles and passed it to the political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica, whose clients included the 2016 Donald Trump presidential campaign. It now falls to Judge Francis Mathew to determine monetary penalties, with state attorneys asking for the statutory maximum of $5,000 per violation, a figure that Le Figaro (AFP) calculates as a theoretical ceiling of $10.5 billion, or 2.1 million residents multiplied by $5,000.

What happened

The verdict came after a two-week trial in Santa Fe, where New Mexico argued that Facebook misled users about how their personal data was handled. The state's case traced back to the Cambridge Analytica affair, in which data harvested through a third-party personality quiz reached the now-defunct political consulting firm and was used to generate targeted advertising. New Mexico filed its lawsuit in 2021 and is the only state to have pursued Cambridge Analytica-related claims in court.

During closing arguments, Meta's defense contended that the state's evidence was outdated, arguing that despite five years of gathering material, New Mexico had failed to identify more than one other instance of a data breach. The state, for its part, cited comments from CEO Mark Zuckerberg to show that users had been deceived. Meta denied that it sells user information and characterized the state's evidence as "cherry-picked snippets."

A Meta spokesperson told CBS News that the company disagrees with the verdict and will continue to defend "against efforts to distort our records," adding: "We have a First Amendment right to manage those platforms in a way we believe best serves the interests of our community." The New Mexico Attorney General's office held a press conference at 2 p.m. local time Friday to discuss the case.

Why it matters

The liability finding puts a dollar figure in motion that could reach into the billions. With more than 2 million violations established and state attorneys seeking the maximum $5,000 penalty per violation, the theoretical exposure sits at $10.5 billion according to Le Figaro's AFP-sourced calculation, while Protothema's headline cites a potential fine of up to $10 billion. Judge Francis Mathew will decide the actual amount, so the final penalty could land well below that ceiling.

The case also sits apart from Meta's other legal settlements. Meta's August settlement of up to $18 billion in the multistate child-safety lawsuit included a release from future Cambridge Analytica privacy liability, and Florida was the only other state not to sign that agreement. That release is precisely why New Mexico's standalone pursuit matters: it is the only remaining courtroom avenue for Cambridge Analytica-related privacy claims in the United States. Separately this year, New Mexico won judgments totaling $942 million from Meta in a two-phase trial over protections for minors, with the court ordering age-verification technology and time limits on usage.

The verdict also adds to a running tally of legal costs for Meta in a single state, with the $942 million in prior judgments this year and the August settlement of up to $18 billion already on the books. Whether the consumer protection statute becomes a template for other states is not established by this verdict; what is established is that New Mexico's claims survived where the multistate settlement released every other signatory from Cambridge Analytica privacy liability.

How it is being covered

According to ground.news, the story is carried by 88 sources, of which 77 are rated, with a political split of 25 percent left, 66 percent centre and 9 percent right. Factuality is strong: 73 of the 77 rated sources sit at high or very high factuality, with 26 rated high and 47 very high, 4 mixed and none low. The coverage shows a blindspot on the right, where only 9 percent of outlets are covering the verdict, leaving the political dimension of the Cambridge Analytica legacy least examined on that side of the spectrum.

What to watch

The immediate question is the penalty phase before Judge Francis Mathew, where state attorneys are pressing for the full $5,000 per violation. Watch for Meta's expected post-trial motions, including its stated intent to continue defending "against efforts to distort our records," and any First Amendment arguments the company signaled in its statement to CBS News. Also watch whether other states test consumer protection statutes against legacy data-harvesting claims, given that New Mexico's August release from the multistate settlement left it alone in this litigation. The Attorney General's office press conference from Friday afternoon may preview the state's penalty arguments.

By the numbers

Source snapshot