Meta, the parent company of social media sites Facebook and Instagram, was ordered by a New Mexico court on Thursday, August 6, to pay nearly $1 billion for failing to warn the public about the dangers its platforms posed to children.
The case stemmed from a 2023 lawsuit filed by New Mexico attorneys, who argued that Meta’s platforms exposed children to harmful content and sexual predators.
Calling the company — which also owns WhatsApp, Threads and Messenger — a “public nuisance,” Judge Bryan Biedscheid, who doled out the ruling Thursday, compared it to pollution “that must be abated,” according to the BBC.
Meta, led by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, had already been fined $375 million in the first phase of the case in March, after the court found that the company repeatedly violated New Mexico’s Unfair Practices Act and “steered” young people toward harmful content, marking the first time a state had successfully sued the social media giant over child safety issues. Thursday’s ruling added another $567 million in fines following the landmark trial, bringing the total to $942 million, per the outlet.
In addition to the fines, Biedscheid ordered the company to implement safety measures, which include monthly limits on how much teens can use Instagram and Facebook, restrictions on notifications and preventing adults from contacting users under 18 whom they don’t know. Meta will also be ordered to put the money into a fund designed to reduce future harm and address the “wide-ranging impacts of the harm,” the BBC reports.
Will Oliver – Pool via CNP / MEGA
Per the outlet, of the nearly $1 billion, roughly $420 million will go toward “appropriate clinical or other behavioral health programs and professionals” aimed at treating harm already caused by the platform.
In a statement to People following Thursday’s ruling, Meta said they “disagree” with the court’s decision and plan to “appeal,” as they similarly said following March’s decision.
“We work hard to keep people safe on our platforms and have been transparent about the challenges of identifying and removing bad actors and harmful content,” the statement read. “We remain confident in our record of protecting teens online and will continue to defend ourselves against claims that misrepresent the facts.”
New Mexico’s Attorney General Raúl Torrez also released a statement Thursday, calling the ruling a “victory.”
“This case has always been about protecting children, standing up for families, and making sure that one of the world’s largest technology companies cannot profit from practices that endanger young people without consequence,” Torrez’s statement read, per the New Mexico Department of Justice.
“Today’s decision is a victory for every parent who has worried about what social media is doing to their child and every child who deserves to grow up safer online,” he added.
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