A New Mexico jury has found Facebook liable for deceiving users about the privacy protections surrounding a major data breach. The verdict stems from a lawsuit alleging that the social‑media giant misled users regarding how their personal information was handled.
The case centered on a third‑party personality quiz that harvested data from roughly 87 million Facebook profiles. The information collected by the quiz was later sold to political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica, which used it to create targeted political advertisements.
Plaintiffs argued that Facebook presented a false sense of security, suggesting that users’ data were protected while the company allowed the quiz to access and export large volumes of personal information without adequate safeguards.
After hearing testimony and reviewing evidence, the New Mexico jury concluded that Facebook’s statements about its privacy practices were misleading, rendering the company liable for the alleged deception.
The decision adds to ongoing scrutiny of Facebook’s data‑handling policies, following the high‑profile Cambridge Analytica scandal that raised global concerns about how social‑media platforms collect and share user information for political and commercial purposes.
<small>Source: PBS NewsHour — read the original story there.</small>
