New Mexico orders Meta to pay $375 million in child exploitation case

A New Mexico jury has delivered a landmark verdict against Meta, deeming its practices to negatively impact children's mental health on its platforms.

What's happening?

The Associated Press reported that after a nearly seven-week trial, jurors agreed with state prosecutors that Meta — which owns Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp — prioritized profits over safety, and violated parts of the state's Unfair Practices Act. 

State attorneys argued Meta was aware of the potential harm its policies could cause to children, and that the company knowingly harmed children's mental health and concealed what it knew about child sexual exploitation on its social media platforms. 

A jury in Santa Fe agreed with more than 3,000 allegations for a total penalty of $375 million that Meta made false or misleading statements and engaged in exploitative business practices targeting children's vulnerabilities and inexperience. 

While large, the payout is less than a fifth of what prosecutors sought. 

Whether Meta will have to change its practices will eventually be up to a judge, with the second phase of the trial coming up in May. 

A spokesperson for the company says it disagrees with the verdict and will appeal. 

"We work hard to keep people safe on our platforms and are clear about the challenges of identifying and removing bad actors or harmful content," the spokesperson said, per AP. "We will continue to defend ourselves vigorously, and we remain confident in our record of protecting teens online."

Why is this decision significant?

This decision sets a strong precedent, as more trials like this are brought forward. It shows a shift in the government's willingness to hold these companies accountable for the harm they cause. 

According to AP, ParentsSOS, a group of 20 families who have lost children to harm caused by social media, called the verdict a "watershed moment."

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"We parents who have experienced the unimaginable — the death of a child because of social media harms — applaud this rare and momentous milestone in the years-long fight to hold Big Tech accountable for the dangers their products pose to our kids," the group said in a statement.

A post to social platform X about the verdict elicited strong reactions from commenters. 

"That's chump change," one said about the payout. "I'm glad to see it but I'm looking forward to Meta facing some real consequences someday."

"Hopefully it starts a chain of lawsuits in all states," another added. 

What's being done about harmful content?

The Associated Press further reported that over 40 state attorneys general have filed lawsuits against Meta for being intentionally addictive and causing harm to youth. 

Similar lawsuits have been brought against other social media companies, and a California jury recently also found Meta and YouTube liable for harm in a similar case. 

"Meta's house of cards is beginning to fall," said Sacha Haworth, executive director of watchdog group The Tech Oversight Project, per the AP. "For years, it's been glaringly obvious that Meta has failed to stop sexual predators from turning online interactions into real world harm."

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