Meta Hit With $375 Million Jury Verdict in New Mexico Child Safety Lawsuit

(AsiaGameHub) –   On Tuesday, a jury based in Santa Fe ordered Meta to pay $375 million in civil penalties following a six-week trial examining child safety practices on Facebook and Instagram. The ruling secured a win for New Mexico under the state’s Unfair Practices Act, and counts as one of the most severe courtroom setbacks Meta has faced in a case connected to harm experienced by young platform users.

Key Details

Jurors found Meta liable for both claims that New Mexico filed against the company.

The fine was set at $5,000 for each individual violation, the highest amount allowed under New Mexico state law.

The second phase of the case is scheduled for May 4, and may result in additional penalties as well as changes to platform policies.

New Mexico Jury Delivers a Major Legal Defeat to Meta

While the monetary sum is notable, the greater significance may lie in what the ruling represents. In a press release distributed immediately after the verdict, the office of New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez stated the ruling was a “watershed moment for every parent concerned about what could happen to their kids when they go online,”

Torrez structured the case around the gap between Meta’s internal knowledge and its public communications. He stated:

“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.”

During the trial, New Mexico’s legal team drew on evidence from a 2023 undercover operation that used decoy Facebook and Instagram accounts set up to appear as if they belonged to users under the age of 14. Per the state’s findings, these accounts were sent sexually explicit content and received sexual solicitations from multiple men located in New Mexico. Law enforcement arrested those men in May 2024, with two taken into custody at a motel where they believed they were meeting a 12-year-old girl.

State attorneys also used internal company records and testimony from former Meta employees to argue that repeated warnings from staff and child safety experts failed to result in adequate action from the firm. Some of the most impactful testimony came from Arturo Béjar, a former engineering and product leader at Meta, who told jurors he attempted to raise alarms after his 14-year-old daughter received unsolicited sexual advances on Instagram.

He also outlined the dangerous functionality of the platform’s recommendation systems. “The product is very good at connecting people with interests,” Béjar said, “and if your interest is little girls, it will be really good at connecting you with little girls.”

Another former executive, Brian Boland, testified that safety did not appear to be a genuine priority for the company’s senior leadership. Boland, who worked at Meta for nearly 12 years before leaving in 2020, said he “absolutely did not believe that safety was a priority” for CEO Mark Zuckerberg and then-COO Sheryl Sandberg.

Jurors were also shown a recorded deposition from Zuckerberg. In the recording, he described research investigating whether the platforms are addictive as “inconclusive.” New Mexico’s legal team pushed back on this claim, pointing to internal research that found certain product features were designed to trigger dopamine responses and extend the amount of time users spend on the apps. When asked if a parent had a right to know if a product their child uses is addictive, Zuckerberg responded that there was a lot to “unpack in that.”

Meta has announced it intends to appeal the ruling. A company spokesperson said the firm “works hard to keep people safe” on its platforms and that it “respectfully disagree[s] with the verdict.”

The New Mexico case is not the only legal battle Meta is currently facing. A separate trial in Los Angeles also centers on allegations that social media platforms are addictive and caused harm to young users. That case was filed by a California woman identified as K.G.M. TikTok and Snap reached settlement agreements before the trial started, while Meta and YouTube remain defendants in the case. Jurors for that trial are still deliberating, and the judge recently instructed them to continue discussions after they indicated they were having trouble reaching a verdict for one defendant.

The next stage of the New Mexico case will launch on May 4. That phase is a bench trial focused on public nuisance claims, meaning a judge rather than a jury will determine the outcome. New Mexico is arguing that Facebook and Instagram caused broader harm to the health and safety of state residents, and this portion of the case could lead to additional penalties, age verification requirements, and stronger protections for minors.