Meta ordered to pay US state $567M
A New Mexico judge on Thursday ordered Meta to pay more than half a billion dollars over the state’s claims that the social media giant created a “public nuisance” and harmed children.
Meta was previously ordered to pay $375 million in damages to New Mexico in March when a jury found the company liable for endangering children by making them vulnerable to predators on its platforms, among other harms.
“We disagree with the ruling and will appeal,” Meta told Agence France-Presse (AFP) in a statement Thursday.
“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 tech giant added.
New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez sued Meta—which makes Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp—in 2023, alleging the company failed to protect children from online dangers.
During closing arguments, prosecutor Linda Singer told jurors that Meta’s algorithms had directed adults toward content posted by teenage users while the company concealed internal findings about the risks to young people.
In March, the jury found Meta violated the state’s Unfair Practices Act by misleading consumers about the safety of its products for children.
Parental concerns
“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 said in a statement Thursday.
“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.”
Around three-quarters of the new $567 million fund should be used for mental health treatment, and it’s to be paid over five years.
The remaining amount is allocated across programs for “awareness and prevention,” “screening and assessment,” “referral, linkage, and coordination,” implementation and evaluation.
The ruling orders Meta to make changes to its products, including making continued efforts to keep children in New Mexico who are under the age of 13 off of Facebook and Instagram.
Bellwether trials
In his ruling, New Mexico Judge Bryan Biedscheid also noted that teenagers are particularly susceptible to features that are designed to boost engagement, such as autoplay, infinite scrolling, like counts, push notifications, and algorithmic recommendations.
The judge ordered Meta to limit push notifications and usage to 90 hours a month, around three-hours daily on average, for users under age 18, in addition to hiding “like counts.”
Thousands of lawsuits have been filed in the United States seeking to hold social media companies liable for alleged harms to children and mental health.
More than 30 US states are suing Meta over similar allegations, with a potential trial set to begin in August in Oakland, California.
The first bellwether trial for social media harms on mental health concluded in March, when a Los Angeles jury ordered Meta and Google to pay a 20-year-old woman $6 million.
