Full Breakdown
New Mexico’s Privacy Trial Targets Meta Over Cambridge Analytica Data Harvest
9/9/2026, 9:37:59 PM
New Mexico’s Privacy Trial Against Meta
A state court in Santa Fe has begun jury selection for a trial that accuses Meta Platforms Inc. (owner of Facebook and Instagram) of failing to warn users that a political consulting firm harvested data from roughly 87 million Facebook profiles and sold it to Cambridge Analytica. The lawsuit, filed in 2021, also alleges that the company’s misinformation contributed to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Opening statements are set to begin early this week, and the proceeding is expected to last about four weeks, featuring a video deposition of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Background of the Cambridge Analytica Breach
The data breach originated from a personality-quiz app that collected information from millions of users without proper consent. Cambridge Analytica, now defunct, used the data to create targeted political ads during the 2016 presidential election, including for the campaign of Donald Trump. The exposure of the breach sparked a multi-state settlement in which 48 states secured up to $18 billion from Meta over child-safety and privacy concerns; Florida declined to join, arguing the agreement was insufficiently stringent. New Mexico is the sole state that pursued a separate trial.
Legal Claims and Penalties
New Mexico alleges violations of its Unfair Practices Act and seeks civil penalties of up to $5,000 per violation, as well as an injunction to prevent future data breaches. The state estimates that about 350,000 New Mexicans were affected by the Cambridge Analytica exposure. Earlier this year, the state secured $942 million from Meta in a two-phase trial focused on teen-safety protections, which included a $567 million fine and mandated age-verification technology and usage limits. A prior jury verdict added $375 million in civil penalties for 75,000 alleged violations of the same state law.
Official Responses
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez described the breach as a pattern of misrepresentation about data collection, sharing, and exploitation. A Santa Fe judge ordered the recent $567 million penalty and required Meta to implement new safeguards for teen accounts. Meta has not publicly contested the specific allegations in the current privacy trial.
Future Proceedings
The trial will continue through the next month, after which the court will determine liability and any additional penalties. The outcome could influence how other states address data-privacy enforcement against large technology platforms.
