New Mexico Pursues Standalone Trial Against Meta Over Cambridge Analytica Data

New Mexico is proceeding with a standalone trial against Meta in the 1st Judicial District Court in Santa Fe. The litigation tests whether a single state can secure greater damages by rejecting collective settlements in favor of independent legal action.

Filed in 2021, the lawsuit alleges that Meta, formerly Facebook, violated the New Mexico Unfair Practices Act by allowing the political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica to harvest user data. While 47 other states agreed to a multistate settlement in which Meta paid approximately $460 million to resolve similar claims, New Mexico declined to join that agreement. Instead, the state opted to pursue its own case to seek higher penalties under state law.

A Strategy of Independence

This trial is the latest chapter in a broader "go-it-alone" legal strategy adopted by New Mexico against the social media giant. The state has recently demonstrated the potential efficacy of this approach in other venues. New Mexico recently secured a major victory in a separate lawsuit concerning child safety on Meta's platforms, which resulted in a total recovery of $942 million. That settlement included $375 million in civil penalties and $567 million dedicated to an abatement fund for repairs.

According to Lauren Rodriguez, chief of staff for the New Mexico Department of Justice, Attorney General Torrez's decision to initiate a separate case under New Mexico law rather than joining multistate litigation led to the first-ever trial victory against the company and the historic recovery for the state's children.

Industry Implications

The outcome of the Cambridge Analytica trial carries significant implications for how state attorneys general handle Big Tech litigation. For years, multistate settlements have been the standard mechanism for resolving national privacy breaches, providing a streamlined path to recovery but often capping the total payout per state. By litigating independently, New Mexico is challenging this model, attempting to prove that state-level consumer protection laws can yield far more aggressive financial penalties than collective bargaining.

Legal Outlook

As the case moves forward in Santa Fe, the court will determine the extent of Meta's liability under the New Mexico Unfair Practices Act. The proceedings will further scrutinize Meta's historical data privacy failures and its adherence to state-level regulations. Legal observers are watching to see if the state can replicate the financial success of its child safety litigation in the context of the Cambridge Analytica breach.