CVN screenshot of plaintiff attorney Randi McGinn delivering her opening statement
Santa Fe, NM - A New Mexico state court jury heard opening statements Wednesday in a lawsuit filed by the attorney general’s office accusing Facebook of violating state law by selling user data to a political consulting firm in 2016, and the full trial is being webcast live and on-demand gavel-to-gavel by Courtroom View Network.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez claims Facebook facilitated a personality quiz that gathered data from nearly 87 million users and sold it to Cambridge Analytica, a political consulting firm that used the data to create targeted ads in the 2016 presidential election on behalf of then-candidate Donald Trump.
Torrez maintains 350,000 New Mexicans had their data exposed in violation of New Mexico’s Unfair Practices Act, however Facebook’s parent company Meta argues the lawsuit is based on “settled or debunked” claims, and a company spokesperson accused the New Mexico AG’s office in a statement to the media of “seeking to suspend essential First Amendment rights.”
CVN’s live and on-demand coverage commences with Wednesday’s opening statements and will continue for the duration of the trial, anticipated to span roughly four weeks. In addition to the video feed, CVN’s broadcast also includes time-synced digital images of the exhibits and demonstratives shown in the courtroom during the trial. Email CVN here for information on various subscription options.
The case was originally filed in 2021 by former Attorney General Hector Balderas. While the current AG’s office can’t compel the in-person testimony of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the trial is expected to feature video footage of previously unseen deposition testimony involving the social media company’s role in the 2016 election.
Wednesday's opening statments before Judge Francis Matthew drew a substantial crowd of attorneys to his Santa Fe courtroom.
The AG’s office is joined by outside counsel from New Mexico-based firms McGinn Montoya Love Curry & Sievers and by New York City and Chicago-based counsel from Dicello Levitt.
Facebook is represented by local New Mexico counsel Rodey Law and by a Washington D.C-based team from Williams & Connolly LLP.
CVN screenshot of defense attorney Dane H. Butswinkas delivering his opening statement
The small courthouse in Santa Fe has been the national focus of two previous trials this year involving Facebook.
In back-to-back trials, also recorded by CVN, New Mexico secured nearly $942 million from Meta in litigation over protections for minors on the platform. The trial also resulted in a court order to put new safeguards in place, such as age verification technology and time limits for user sessions. Meta said it would appeal that decision.
The current ongoing trial is captioned State of New Mexico v. Facebook, case number D-101-CV-202100132 in the 1st Judicial Circuit of New Mexico in Santa Fe.
Email David Siegel at dsiegel@cvn.com
