New Mexico began its trial against Meta Platforms regarding the Cambridge Analytica scandal. State attorneys allege a pattern of misrepresentation in how the company collected and exploited user data. The case involves a personality quiz that harvested data from millions of Facebook profiles. This data was sold to a political consulting firm for targeted 2016 election advertising.
New Mexico remains the only state to take Meta to trial over the issue. Forty-eight other states previously settled with the company to release it from future liability. The state seeks civil penalties of up to $5,000 for each violation under its Unfair Practices Act.
An estimated 350,000 New Mexico residents were affected by the data breach. The trial is expected to last four weeks. Proceedings will include a video deposition from CEO Mark Zuckerberg.