Meta faces judicial setback in New Mexico over private data handling
The New Mexico justice system has issued a resounding verdict against Meta, the parent company of Facebook, after determining that the platform misled millions of users regarding its privacy policies and the safeguarding of their personal information. This ruling marks a significant milestone for the state Attorney General’s Office, which thus achieves its second legal victory against the tech giant so far this year.
The impact of the Cambridge Analytica case
Following a two-week judicial process at the Santa Fe District Court, the jury concluded that Facebook violated the Unfair Practices Act by inappropriately monetizing user data. At the center of the controversy was the “thisisyourdigitallife” application, a personality quiz that served as a gateway for the massive data leak.
The mechanics of the deception were complex: although only 270,000 people installed the application, it collected information from their entire network of contacts. In this way, millions of people were affected without having given their consent or having interacted with the tool.
- Global impact: 87 million users compromised worldwide.
- Impact in the United States: Approximately 70 million people, including 350,000 New Mexico residents.
- Misuse: The consulting firm Cambridge Analytica used the data for psychological profiles in the 2016 election campaigns.
The case sought to hold one of the world’s largest corporations accountable for betraying the trust of the State and users globally.
Attorney General Raúl Torrez, New Mexico Department of JusticeLack of transparency and upcoming sanctions
The lawsuit highlighted that Facebook was aware of the improper sale of data since late 2015, but failed to notify those affected and did not conduct the necessary audits to ensure the deletion of the information. The public only became aware of this serious security breach in March 2018.
Currently, the judge in charge of the case must define the amount of compensation. The Prosecutor’s Office has requested a fine of 5,000 dollars for each violation committed. This verdict is in addition to the recent ruling in March, where Meta was ordered to pay 375 million dollars for irregularities related to security and protection on its platforms.
