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Meta Ordered to Pay $375M in New Mexico Child Exploitation Lawsuit

The New Mexico ruling comes as a Los Angeles jury is still debating whether Meta's social media platforms are addictive to children.

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Jon Reed Managing Editor
Jon covers artificial intelligence. He previously led CNET's home energy and utilities category, with a focus on energy-saving advice, thermostats, and heating and cooling. Jon has more than a decade of experience writing and reporting, including as a statehouse reporter in Columbus, Ohio, a crime reporter in Birmingham, Alabama, and as a mortgage and housing market editor for Time's former personal finance brand, NextAdvisor. When he's not asking people questions, he can usually be found half asleep trying to read a long history book while surrounded by multiple cats. You can reach him at joreed@cnet.com
Expertise Artificial intelligence, home energy, heating and cooling, home technology.
Jon Reed
2 min read
Mark Zuckerberg exits a courthouse surrounded by people in suits.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified in February in a landmark trial over social media addiction in Los Angeles.

 Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg/Getty

A New Mexico jury found Tuesday that Meta violated the state's consumer protection laws by misleading users about the safety of and allowing child sexual exploitation on its Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp platforms, as reported earlier by Reuters. 

The company was ordered to pay $375 million in penalties as a result of the lawsuit, which was brought by the state's attorney general. That sum is the maximum penalty per violation under the state's law, but there's no further information at this time about how the funds will be distributed.

Meta said in a statement that it disagrees with the ruling 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 company's statement said. "We will continue to defend ourselves vigorously, and we remain confident in our record of protecting teens online."

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez alleged that the company's executives knew its products hurt children and disregarded warnings from employees. 

"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," Torrez said in a statement.

Torrez said the state will seek additional penalties and ask the court to require the company to make changes to its platform to protect children.

At the same time, a jury in Los Angeles is considering a case against Meta and Google-owned YouTube brought by a young woman who said she became addicted to YouTube and Instagram as a child. The Los Angeles trial, during which Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg testified, is seen as a bellwether for similar cases across the country. The jury in that case told the judge on Monday that it was having difficulty reaching a consensus regarding one defendant, but did not name which one.