Meta Faces $400 Million Penalty in New Mexico Child Safety Trial
A New Mexico state court jury on Tuesday held Meta liable for nearly $400 million in civil damages after a trial where the state attorney general accused the Facebook and Instagram operator of failing to safeguard kids who leverage its apps from child predators.
The civil trial, which began with opening arguments in Santa Fe last month, centered on allegations that Meta violated state consumer protections laws and misled residents about the safety of apps like Facebook and Instagram. New Mexico attorney general Raúl Torrez sued Meta in 2023 following an undercover operation involving the creation of a fake social media profile of a 13-year-old girl that he previously told CNBC was “simply inundated with images and targeted solicitations” from child abusers.
Deliberations began Monday, and jurors found that Meta willfully violated the state’s unfair practices act, deciding the company should pay $375 million in damages based on the number of violations.
Legal Arguments and Meta’s Response
Linda Singer, an attorney representing New Mexico, urged jury members during closing statements to impose a civil penalty against Meta that could top $2 billion.
Meta disputes the verdict and plans to appeal. A Meta spokesperson stated, “We respectfully disagree with the verdict and will appeal. We perform hard to keep people safe on our platforms and are clear about the challenges of identifying and removing disappointing actors or harmful content. We will continue to defend ourselves vigorously, and we remain confident in our record of protecting teens online.”
Meta previously stated it is “focused on demonstrating our longstanding commitment to supporting young people.”
Attorney General Torrez’s Statement
Attorney General Torrez characterized the jury’s decision as a significant victory for child safety. He stated, “The jury’s verdict is 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. Today the jury joined families, educators, and child safety experts in saying enough is enough.”
Next Phase of the Trial and Potential Remedies
Beginning May 4, a judge will determine whether Meta created a public nuisance and should fund public programs to address the alleged harms. The state’s lawyers are too seeking changes to Meta’s apps and operations, including “enacting effective age verification, removing predators from the platform, and protecting minors from encrypted communications that shield bad actors.”
Internal Documents and Encryption Concerns
During the trial, New Mexico prosecutors presented legal filings detailing internal Meta messages discussing how CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s 2019 announcement to make Facebook Messenger end-to-end encrypted by default would impact the ability to disclose approximately 7.5 million child sexual abuse material reports to law enforcement.
Broader Legal Landscape and Similar Cases
Torrez noted that a similar suit against Snap, filed in 2024, is in the discovery stages, and his team successfully overcame Section 230 motions in both the Meta and Snap cases. The tech industry has often argued that Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act shields them from liability for content shared on their services, but prosecutors are focusing on the design of the apps themselves.
Torrez emphasized, “What’s interesting is they accuse us of doing that, but all we’re doing is showing the world what they knew behind closed doors and weren’t willing to share their users.”
The New Mexico case is part of a growing number of social media-related trials, drawing comparisons to the Big Tobacco lawsuits of the 1990s due to allegations that companies misled the public about the safety of their products.
Separate legal proceedings are also underway in California. A jury in Los Angeles is deliberating in a personal injury trial involving Meta and Google’s YouTube, alleging they misled the public about the safety and design of their apps. Another federal trial in the Northern District of California, involving Meta, YouTube, TikTok, and Snap, is scheduled to start later this year, with multiple school districts and parents alleging negative mental health impacts on teenagers and children.
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