(Credit: Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
A New Mexico jury has found Meta liable for misleading users about the safety of its apps and enabling child sexual exploitation. The jury ordered the maximum civil penalty of $5,000 per violation, totaling $375 million.
The case was brought by the state’s attorney general, Raúl Torrez, following an undercover investigation conducted in 2023. His team set up accounts as users under 14 on Facebook and Instagram and reportedly received sexually explicit material from some adult users.
In its complaint, the state accused Meta of purposely designing features like infinite scroll and auto-play for videos to keep kids hooked on the apps, leading them into depression, anxiety, and self-harm.
During the trial, which began in late January, the state presented internal documents as evidence that Meta was aware of sexual exploitation issues on its platforms, and yet did not do enough to address them.
The trial lasted six weeks, and on Monday, the jury found Meta liable for violating the state’s Unfair Practices Act and ordered civil penalties. “With this verdict, New Mexico becomes the first state in the nation to prevail at trial against a major tech company for harming young people,” Torrez's office said in a statement.
Meta, on the other hand, has said it will appeal. “We respectfully disagree with the verdict and will appeal,” a Meta spokesperson tells CNBC. "We will continue to defend ourselves vigorously, and we remain confident in our record of protecting teens online.”
New Mexico has one other claim pending against Meta. A bench trial will begin on May 4 to decide if the company created a public nuisance. In that case, the state is seeking additional damages and an order forcing Meta to make “specific changes to its platforms and company operations, including enacting effective age verification, removing predators from the platform, and protecting minors from encrypted communications that shield bad actors.”
Meta has already taken a major step toward removing encryption. After May 8, DMs in Instagram will no longer be end-to-end encrypted.
Legal troubles for Meta, however, will not end anytime soon. According to Reuters, the company still faces thousands of teen addiction and mental health lawsuits.