A New Mexico jury has found **Facebook**, owned by **Meta**, guilty of deceiving consumers an astounding 44 million times regarding its data privacy practices. The verdict, announced Friday, could lead to billions in civil penalties for **Meta**, as each violation of New Mexico’s Unfair Practices Act carries a potential fine of up to $5,000. The jury concluded that **Facebook** misled users by claiming they controlled their information sharing and that the company neither bought nor sold private user data, especially to advertisers. ### Deception on Multiple Fronts Beyond data privacy, jurors also determined that **Facebook's** statements concerning hate speech and misinformation were “willfully deceptive.” According to a [press release](https://nmdoj.gov/press-release/jury-finds-facebook-violated-new-mexico-consumer-protection-law-faces-billions-in-potential-civil-penalties/) from the office of New Mexico Attorney General **Raúl Torrez**, these deceptive claims included assertions that **Facebook** did not profit from misinformation or hate, deleted “harmful” misinformation, did not tolerate hate speech, and had no incentive to retain hateful content. Furthermore, the jury found that **Facebook** “willfully” deceived consumers by falsely claiming strict adherence to its “community standards” policy, asserting “no special protections for particular groups and no exceptions to its policies for politicians or newsworthiness.” ### Cambridge Analytica Aftermath The social media behemoth was also found to have lied about its investigation into third-party applications following the **Cambridge Analytica** scandal. Specifically, **Facebook** failed to honor promises to investigate apps accessing significant user data, conduct forensic audits, cease working with developers who misused data, and alert affected users. ### A Pattern of Penalties This latest verdict adds to a growing list of legal challenges and financial penalties for **Meta** concerning its data privacy practices. The company has already accumulated tens of billions in fines from similar cases. In March, a New Mexico court ordered **Meta** to pay $942 million in civil penalties for violating consumer protection laws related to kids' online safety. In August, **Meta** settled a separate children’s online safety case with California for $17 billion, committing to significant platform reforms. Attorney General **Torrez** stated, “For years, **Facebook** operated as if the rules that apply to everyone else didn’t apply to them. This is a historic verdict, not just for New Mexico, but for every state fighting to hold Big Tech accountable.” In addition to the financial penalties, New Mexico is seeking a judge’s order for **Facebook** to implement sweeping changes to its future data privacy practices. A spokesperson for **Meta** has not yet responded to requests for comment.