SANTA FE — A Santa Fe jury went home Thursday without reaching a verdict in State of New Mexico, et al. v. Facebook, Inc., and will resume deliberations at 9 a.m. Friday, according to a media advisory from Barry Massey, chief communications officer for the Administrative Office of the Courts.

The case centers on Facebook’s role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal. The state alleges that Meta Platforms failed to protect the personal data of Facebook users or effectively curtail the spread of hate speech and misinformation on the platform. The state estimates roughly 350,000 New Mexicans were among the U.S. Facebook users whose data the now-defunct London consulting firm harvested — a number that likely includes residents of Otero County. 

What jurors must decide

Jurors must weigh the truthfulness of 34 statements made by Meta and decide whether the company violated New Mexico’s Unfair Practices Act, a consumer protection law aimed at deceptive or “unconscionable” business practices. The state is seeking the maximum civil penalties under the act, up to $5,000 per violation, along with an injunction to halt future breaches of user data. 

The lawsuit dates to 2021. It was filed by then-Attorney General Hector Balderas as part of a wave of state privacy suits after 2018 reports that Facebook had allowed Cambridge Analytica to harvest data from up to 87 million Americans for use in 2016 political campaigns. New Mexico declined to join a multistate Meta settlement and chose to pursue its own litigation. 

Closing arguments

Testimony began Sept. 9 in 1st Judicial District Court before Judge Francis Mathew, and closing arguments wrapped up Wednesday afternoon. The trial featured testimony from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and former Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, both of whom addressed the company’s response to the Cambridge Analytica revelations. 

State attorney Randi McGinn told jurors Meta’s leaders made false promises about protecting users’ data. “Does lying matter anymore in America?” she asked in closing.

Meta attorney Dane Butswinkas countered that the case rests on a breach more than a decade old and ignores safeguards the company has put in place since. He also argued the Unfair Practices Act doesn’t apply because Facebook is a free service with no sale, rental, lease or loan involved.

Third showdown this year

This is the third time in 2026 that New Mexico and Meta have faced off in a Santa Fe courtroom. In March, a jury ordered Meta to pay $375 million in civil penalties in a case brought by Attorney General Raúl Torrez over child safety on its platforms, and in August, Judge Bryan Biedscheid ordered Meta to pay $567 million into a youth mental health abatement fund after declaring the platform’s design a public nuisance. Meta has said it disagrees with the March verdict and will appeal.

The 2nd Life Media Alamogordo Town News will report the verdict once it is announced.

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