Meta found liable for misleading New Mexico users over data policies

MUMBAI: Meta’s data disclosures have run into a legal roadblock, with a New Mexico jury finding the company misled residents over how it handled user data and communicated its policies on hate speech and misinformation.

The verdict followed a two-week trial stemming from a lawsuit filed by New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez in 2021. The case examined allegations surrounding Meta’s handling of user information and statements made about its platforms’ policies.

According to the Reuters report, the Santa Fe jury found 26 of the 29 statements challenged by New Mexico to be misleading. The findings covered statements relating to user data, hate speech and misinformation.

However, the jury rejected the state’s claims concerning Meta’s statements about its efforts to remove harmful content and its fact-checking practices.

At the heart of the case was the question of how clearly Meta represented the way user information could be shared with third parties. New Mexico alleged that Facebook gave users an inaccurate picture of its data-sharing practices, including by failing to disclose that user data was sold to outside parties and that exceptions existed to some of the company’s policies.

The case also brought the Cambridge Analytica controversy back into focus. The political consulting firm, which was involved in Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, was reported to have obtained data from millions of Facebook users without their consent.

Reuters reported that the jury’s findings amounted to more than 43 million violations. The question of how much those violations will cost Meta now moves to Judge Francis Mathew.

Under New Mexico law, civil penalties can reach a maximum of $5,000 per violation. Torrez said his office was assessing the amount it would seek but planned to pursue the maximum penalty based on the jury’s findings.

The state is also expected to ask for changes to Meta’s practices. These could include corrections to earlier statements and an audit of the company’s handling of user data.

Meta, however, disputes the verdict and said it would continue defending itself against what it described as attempts to distort its record. A company spokesperson said Meta’s platforms are forums for free expression and that the company has the right to manage them while protecting users’ information and giving them control over their data.

Meta’s lawyers also argued during the trial that the statements highlighted by the state were selective excerpts that omitted relevant context. The company denied selling users’ information.

The latest verdict is also part of a wider legal tussle between Meta and New Mexico. It comes three years after reports revealed that Cambridge Analytica had harvested personal data from as many as 87 million Facebook users through a third-party application.

It is the second time in six months that a Santa Fe jury has considered a case brought against Meta by New Mexico. In March, a jury found that Meta had misled users about the safety of young people on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp and ordered the company to pay $375 million in civil penalties.

A later phase of that case resulted in an order for Meta to pay $567 million into a New Mexico fund for teen mental health and introduce measures aimed at protecting young users.

New Mexico was not part of a subsequent settlement involving Meta and other US states over claims related to children’s use of its platforms, allowing the state’s Cambridge Analytica case to proceed to trial. The latest verdict now leaves the eventual financial penalty and any additional remedies to be decided by the judge.