Meta Faces $375 Million Verdict Over Child Safety Misleading

A court in New Mexico has ordered Meta to pay $375 million (£279 million) for misleading users regarding the safety of its platforms for children. The jury found Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, liable for the way its platforms exposed children to sexually explicit material and potential contact with sexual predators.

New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez labeled the verdict as historic, noting it is the first successful lawsuit by a state against Meta concerning child safety issues. Meta, led by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, has expressed disagreement with the verdict and plans 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. He also highlighted that the jury's decision aligns with families and child safety advocates protesting against the platforms' practices.

Evidence presented during the seven-week trial involved internal documents from Meta and testimonials from former employees, including whistleblower Arturo Béjar, who demonstrated how underage users were sometimes shown sexualized content and even experienced solicitation from predators.

Previously, Meta was criticized for its algorithms that steered young users towards explicit content, further drawing scrutiny regarding its responsibility for user safety. The total civil penalty of $375 million emerged after the jury identified numerous violations of New Mexico's Unfair Practices Act, each carrying a maximum penalty of $5,000.

Meta is concurrently facing other lawsuits related to child exploitation and user addiction in the digital environment, which continues to spotlight the inherent risks of social media platforms for younger audiences.