Die Zeit57 minutes agoTech2 min readGermany

Meta loses data protection lawsuit in New Mexico over Cambridge Analytica scandal

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A New Mexico court has found Meta guilty of deceptive privacy and free speech practices related to the Cambridge Analytica scandal.
Each violation carries a penalty of up to $5,000, with jurors finding between 1.3 and 2.1 million violations per question across 34 questions.
Meta announced that it would appeal the verdict.

AI-generated summary

Why It Matters

The 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal involved the improper use of Facebook user data to create psychological profiling, which was used, among other things, in Donald Trump's 2016 election campaign. Around 87 million users were affected. Meta has already paid billions in fines and settlements.

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The Cambridge Analytica data protection scandal that went back years ago has brought the Facebook group Meta a fresh defeat in court. Jurors in the US state of New Mexico decided that users were misled about privacy and freedom of speech.

The responsible judge should now determine the amount of the penalty - and it could be a significant amount. There is a penalty of up to $5,000 per violation. The jury found the company liable for most of the 34 questions asked - with 1.3 to 2.1 million violations each, given the number of users affected, as the financial service Bloomberg reported from the courtroom.

A scandal with consequences

The Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2018 permanently damaged public trust in the Facebook Group. The issue was that information from a seemingly harmless survey by a data researcher was used to create user profiles and shared with the analysis company Cambridge Analytica. The team of then-candidate Donald Trump also resorted to it before the 2016 US presidential election. A total of around 87 million user accounts were affected. Among other things, the company paid around six billion dollars to the US government to settle investigations into this.

In the wake of the scandal, New Mexico went to court in 2021 with allegations that also concerned freedom of expression on the platform. The trigger was revelations during the investigation of the case. Among other things, a whistleblower report said that some prominent accounts had been secretly excluded from rules regarding content permitted on the platform.

Meta: Disagree

In a reaction, Meta emphasized that it did not agree with the jury's decision and would continue to defend itself against the allegations. According to the US Constitution, the company has the right to operate the platforms as it sees fit in the interests of the users. This means prioritizing freedom of expression, protecting users' information and giving them control over their data, it said.

What to Watch

AI outlook — possibilities, not facts

Meta will appeal the ruling and is expected to take the legal dispute to higher courts.
Very likely · Within weeks
The final penalty could be in the tens of billions of dollars, based on the number of violations found and the penalty range of up to $5,000 per violation.
Likely · Within months

Open Questions

What will the court's final sentence be?
Will Meta accept the verdict or appeal?
What long-term impact does the ruling have on Meta's data protection practices?