New Mexico jury finds Meta harmed children’s mental health and safety, violated state law
Caroline MolloyA New Mexico jury ruled March 24 that Meta Platforms knowingly harmed children’s mental health, concealed what it knew about child sexual exploitation on its platforms, and violated the state’s consumer protection law.
The jury ordered Meta — the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp — to pay the maximum penalty under New Mexico’s Unfair Practices Act, assessing $5,000 per violation for a total of $375 million in civil penalties, according to AP News.
The case, filed in 2023 by New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez, accused Meta of designing addictive features that prioritized engagement over safety, while failing to protect young users from predators. The New Mexico Department of Justice said in a press release that prosecutors presented internal company documents, whistleblower testimony, and evidence from undercover investigations that showed Meta’s design features enabled pedophiles and predators to sexually exploit children online.
Jurors sided with state prosecutors after a nearly seven-week trial, concluding that Meta made false or misleading statements about platform safety and engaged in “unconscionable” trade practices that exploited children’s vulnerabilities, AP News reported.
In the department’s release, Torrez called the decision a “historic victory for every child and family who has paid the price for Meta’s choice to put profits over kids’ safety.”
“Meta executives knew their products harmed children, disregarded warnings from their own employees, and lied to the public about what they knew,” Torrez said. “Today the jury joined families, educators, and child safety experts in saying enough is enough.”
A Meta spokesperson said in a statement shared by AP News that the company disagrees with the jury’s verdict and plans to appeal.
