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 way in which its platforms endangered children and exposed them to sexually explicit material and contact with sexual predators. New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez described the verdict as historic, marking the first successful legal action against Meta regarding child safety.
Following the verdict, a spokesperson for Meta stated that the company intends to appeal, asserting, We work hard to keep people safe on our platforms and are clear about the challenges of identifying and removing bad actors and harmful content. We remain confident in our record of protecting teens online.
The ruling was based on findings that Meta violated New Mexico's Unfair Practices Act by misleading the public about the safety of its services intended for young users. During a seven-week trial, jurors were presented with internal Meta documents indicating that the company was aware of child predators utilizing its platforms.
Arturo Béjar, a former engineering leader at Meta and whistleblower, testified about experiments showing that underage users were served sexualized content, including an alleged incident where his own daughter was propositioned on Instagram. The jury's decision led to a total civil penalty of $375 million after determining thousands of violations of the act, each attracting a maximum penalty of $5,000.
Meta is currently embroiled in a separate lawsuit in Los Angeles, and faces several other lawsuits concerning its practices and their effects on young users.
Following the verdict, a spokesperson for Meta stated that the company intends to appeal, asserting, We work hard to keep people safe on our platforms and are clear about the challenges of identifying and removing bad actors and harmful content. We remain confident in our record of protecting teens online.
The ruling was based on findings that Meta violated New Mexico's Unfair Practices Act by misleading the public about the safety of its services intended for young users. During a seven-week trial, jurors were presented with internal Meta documents indicating that the company was aware of child predators utilizing its platforms.
Arturo Béjar, a former engineering leader at Meta and whistleblower, testified about experiments showing that underage users were served sexualized content, including an alleged incident where his own daughter was propositioned on Instagram. The jury's decision led to a total civil penalty of $375 million after determining thousands of violations of the act, each attracting a maximum penalty of $5,000.
Meta is currently embroiled in a separate lawsuit in Los Angeles, and faces several other lawsuits concerning its practices and their effects on young users.
