Story perspectives

Meta Found Liable for Privacy Deception in 43 Million Cases

By Drooid · Sep 27, 2026, 12:05 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

A U.S. jury found Meta's Facebook liable for deceiving users about privacy protections.
Jurors said Facebook violated state consumer-protection law in over 43 million instances.
The jury also held Facebook liable for more than 2 million data-broker investigation violations.
Attorney General Raúl Torrez says New Mexico attorneys seek the maximum $5,000 civil penalty per violation.
If the judge awards maximum penalties, Meta could owe over $200 billion plus interest.

History

Historical Context

In 1998 the Federal Trade Commission fined America Online $1.5 million and forced it to obtain explicit consent from two million users before sharing personal data, establishing a privacy-consent precedent. That framework underpins the New Mexico Attorney General’s 2024 lawsuit accusing Meta’s Facebook of violating state consumer-protection law in over 43 million instances. The case could reshape corporate data-privacy accountability.

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Story summary

A U.S. jury found Meta's Facebook liable for deceiving users about privacy protections.
Jurors said Facebook violated state consumer-protection law in over 43 million instances.
The jury also held Facebook liable for more than 2 million data-broker investigation violations.
Attorney General Raúl Torrez says New Mexico attorneys seek the maximum $5,000 civil penalty per violation.
If the judge awards maximum penalties, Meta could owe over $200 billion plus interest.

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