Meta loses privacy case in New Mexico, could face up to $219 billion fine BlockBeats News: On September 26th, a jury in New Mexico, USA, ruled that Meta had engaged in deceptive behavior towards the public in terms of speech and data privacy policies, violating state laws. Meta has thus become the highest legal cost faced so far in the Cambridge Analytica data scandal. State Attorney General Ra ú l Torrez called the ruling a "milestone moment" in holding tech giants accountable and will apply to the court for a civil fine of up to $219 billion against Meta. The jury found that Meta was responsible for the majority of the 34 statements listed in the verdict, with each violation occurring between 1.3 million and 2.1 million times, corresponding to the number of Facebook users in New Mexico or the total population of the state in 2020; Each violation can result in a maximum fine of $5000, and the final amount will be determined by Judge Francis Mathew of the Santa Fe First Judicial Circuit. According to BIT (bit. com) market data, after the announcement, Meta closed down 3.33% on Friday. The case originated from the Cambridge Analytica scandal exposed in 2018: a questionnaire application developed by a data scientist appeared harmless on the surface, but actually collected information about Facebook users and their friends, ultimately involving 87 million user profiles, which were used by Cambridge Analytica for Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. Meta has previously paid a total settlement of approximately $6 billion, which includes the Federal Trade Commission, Facebook user groups, and a bipartisan alliance of state attorneys general. However, New Mexico and Washington D.C. are the only two jurisdictions that have not joined the alliance for settlement. A Meta spokesperson objected to the verdict, stating that they will continue to argue and citing the First Amendment to emphasize the right to manage platforms in the best interest of the community, prioritizing freedom of speech, protecting user information, and granting users control over data. It is worth noting that the theoretical fine limit is 219 billion US dollars, and the actual amount depends on the final discretion of the judge.