A court in New Mexico has ordered Meta to pay $375 million (£279 million) for misleading users over the safety of its platforms for children.
A jury found that Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, was liable for the manner in which its platforms endangered children and exposed them to sexually explicit material and potential contact with sexual predators.
New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez described the verdict as historic, marking the first successful lawsuit by a state against Meta regarding child safety issues. A spokesperson for Meta, led by chairman and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg, expressed disagreement with the verdict and confirmed their intention to appeal.
Torrez stated, Meta executives knew their products harmed children, disregarded warnings from their own employees, and lied to the public about what they knew. Today, the jury joined families, educators, and child safety experts in saying enough is enough. The verdict was a culmination of internal Meta documents and testimonies from former employees which indicated that the company was aware of the risks children faced on its platforms.
As part of the trial, evidence was presented demonstrating that a significant percentage of Instagram users had reported exposure to unwanted nudity or sexual content, raising serious concerns about the effectiveness of Meta's safety measures for minors.
The jury determined that Meta violated New Mexico's Unfair Practices Act by misleading the public about the safety of its platforms for young users. The final civil penalty of $375 million was based on thousands of violations of the act, each carrying a maximum penalty of $5,000.
Meta has faced ongoing scrutiny regarding its platforms’ impact on youth, as the company is also currently involved in another trial related to claims of addiction to social media platforms among minors. The litigation landscape surrounding Meta is rapidly evolving, with numerous lawsuits targeting its child safety practices thus far.
