Meta found liable in New Mexico child safety trial

Meta was found liable by a jury in New Mexico on Tuesday for compromising children’s safety online. 

The parent company for Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp has been ordered to pay $375 million in damages for violating New Mexico’s Unfair Practices Act, which prohibits unfair, deceptive and misleading business ventures across the state. 

The ruling follows a 2023 lawsuit filed by state Attorney General Raúl Torrez (D) after an investigation into Meta’s efforts to protect children from sexual abuse, online solicitation and human trafficking.

Torrez authorized undercover agents to pose as children online to determine what content Meta’s algorithm would promote to underage users. 

His office said the probe found that Meta showed sexually explicit images — even when the “child” user expressed no interest in the content — and also enabled adults to find, contact, and pressure underage users into providing sexually explicit content.

In one instance, according to Torrez’s office, a fictitious mother was allowed to offer her 13-year-old daughter for sale to sex traffickers.

“Meta’s platforms are the social media equivalent of an addictive drug from which young users cannot break free,” Torrez’s original complaint reads.

“Meta knew that these design features fostered addiction, anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicide among teens and preteens,” he added. 

In previous lawsuits, Meta and other social media companies have been shielded from legal recourse thanks to First Amendment protections and Section 230 of the U.S. Communications Decency Act, which provides limited federal immunity for websites against liability for user-posted content and moderation decisions.

Meta says it disagrees with the jury’s verdict. 

“We respectfully disagree with the verdict 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,” a Meta spokesperson told The Hill. 

“We will continue to defend ourselves vigorously, and we remain confident in our record of protecting teens online,” the spokesperson added. 

The tech giant is facing a similar legal battle in California alongside YouTube.

Miranda Nazzaro contributed to this article.

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