Facebook Found Liable in Cambridge Analytica Data Breach Case

New Mexico jury rules Facebook deceived users over data breach. $5,000 penalty per violation possible.

September 26, 2026 One Min Read

POLICY WIRE — Santa Fe, New Mexico — A New Mexico jury has ruled that Facebook misled users about the privacy of their data, marking a major legal development in the ongoing fallout from the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

The case centered on a 2016 data breach involving a third-party personality quiz that collected information from around 87 million user profiles and sold it to the political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica. The firm was known for its work with the 2016 Donald Trump campaign.

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Jurors found Facebook responsible for over 2 million violations related to the breach and misleading the public about investigations into data brokers. The state’s attorney general is set to announce details of potential penalties, which could reach up to $5,000 per violation. Meanwhile, Meta, Facebook’s parent company, has already agreed to pay $18 billion in a separate settlement over child safety concerns.

Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)

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