The Santa Fe jury held Meta, the parent of Facebook, accountable for misleading users after a third‑party personality quiz harvested data from roughly 87 million profiles and sold it to Cambridge Analytica for targeted ads in the 2016 Trump campaign—
New Mexico attorneys demanded $5,000 for each violation, citing over two million breaches and framing a possible $10 billion fine—
The decision follows a 130‑page settlement that released Meta from future liability over the Cambridge breach, yet New Mexico chose to pursue the case; a Santa Fe resident said she never imagined her data was monetized—
Florida, the only other state that did not sign the settlement, has yet to file suit, but the New Mexico ruling could spur additional litigation—
The judge will now set the fine, with a ruling expected by the end of September.