Facebook facing billions in potential civil penalties after jury verdict
UPDATE: 3:29PM - The jury found 43,899,725 violations of the New Mexico Unfair Practices Act were committed by the social media platform after making "false and misleading statement to New Mexico consumers about how the company collected, protected, shared, and used their personal information," said the New Mexico Department of Justice.
“For years, Facebook operated as if the rules that apply to everyone else didn’t apply to them. Today, a jury of New Mexicans said otherwise,” said Attorney General Raúl Torrez. “This is a historic verdict, not just for New Mexico, but for every state fighting to hold Big Tech accountable.”
The act allows for $5,000 in penalties per violation, based on the more than 43.8 million found by the jury during this trial, that could add up to billions of dollars. The judge will now determine what the final amount will be and it is up to his discretion.
UPDATE: The New Mexico Department of Justice says today's verdict is "another historic victory" against the social media platform.
Facebook, Inc was found to have committed more than 40 million violations of the New Mexico Unfair Practices Act when they made false and misleading statements to users in New Mexico.
The NMDOJ said this verdict "marks a significant victor for New Mexico consumers and holds one of the world's largest technology companies accountable for its conduct."
SANTA FE, New Mexico (KVIA) - The jury in the State of New Mexico vs Facebook, Inc. lawsuit reached a verdict this morning. The platform was found liable for misleading its users about their privacy protections.
The case involves allegations of failure from the social media platform to protect its users from third-party link that took personal data from over 87 million profiles according to the court case.
Over two million New Mexico residents were affected. The state requested the maximum penalty of $5,000 per violation. The judge in the case will now determine the penalty accessed to Facebook.
State attorneys told the court that Facebook deceived users regarding their information being protected.
The lawsuit stemmed from a data incident in which user information was used in creating targeted political ads.
The information harvested was later reportedly sold to Cambridge Analytica. The company worked on the 2016 presidential campaign for Donald Trump.
Attorneys for Facebook, Inc. told the court the state did not present sufficient evidence detailing violations on part of their client. They also stated the company had enhanced their privacy protection protocols.
The jury was tasked with the review of over 30 statements and determine if any violations of the Unfair Practices Act occurred; if the conduct by the platform was willful and if they broke the law when it came to users actually having control on how their information is shared or used.
