New Mexico jury says Meta harms children’s mental health and safety, violating state law
SANTA FE, New Mexico — A New Mexico jury determined Tuesday that Meta knowingly harmed the mental health of children and concealed what she knew about child sexual exploitation on her social media platforms, a verdict that signals a changing tide against tech companies and the government’s desire to crack down.
The landmark ruling comes after a nearly seven-week trial, and as jurors in a California federal court were sequestered for more than a week to determine whether Meta and YouTube should be liable in a similar case.
Jurors in New Mexico sided with state prosecutors who argued that Meta — which owns Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp — prioritized profits over safety and violated parts of the state’s unfair practices law.
The jury agreed with the allegations that Meta made false or misleading statements and also agreed that Meta engaged in “unconscionable” business practices that unfairly took advantage of children’s vulnerability and inexperience.
Jurors found there were thousands of violations, each separately counting toward a $375 million fine. That’s less than a fifth of what prosecutors were seeking.
Meta is valued at about $1.5 trillion and the company’s shares were up 5% in early after-hours trading following the verdict, a signal that shareholders were ignoring the news.
Juror Linda Payton, 38, said the jury reached a compromise on the estimated number of teens affected by Meta’s platforms, while opting for the maximum sentence per offense. With a maximum fine of $5,000 for each offense, she said she believes each child is worth the maximum amount.
The social media conglomerate will not be forced to change its practices immediately. It will be up to a judge – not a jury – to determine whether Meta’s social media platforms have created a public nuisance and whether the company should fund public programs to remedy the harms. This second phase of the trial will take place in May.
A Meta spokesperson said the company disagreed with the verdict and would 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,” the spokesperson said. “We will continue to vigorously defend ourselves and remain confident in our ability to protect teens online.”
Meta’s lawyers said the company discloses risks and works to eliminate harmful content and experiences, while recognizing that some malicious content slips through its safety net.
The New Mexico case was among the first to go to trial in a wave of litigation involving social media platforms and their impacts on children.
More than 40 state attorneys general have filed lawsuits against Meta, claiming that Meta is contributing to a youth mental health crisis by deliberately designing addictive Instagram and Facebook features.
“Meta’s house of cards is starting to collapse,” said Sacha Haworth, executive director of the watchdog group The Tech Oversight Project. “For years, it has become clear that Meta has failed to stop sexual predators from turning online interactions into real danger.”
Haworth pointed to whistleblowers like Arturo Béjar, as well as unsealed documents and other evidence, saying it painted a damning picture.
The New Mexico case hinged on an undercover investigation in which agents created social media accounts posing as children to document sexual solicitations and Meta’s response.
The lawsuit, filed in 2023 by New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez, also says Meta failed to fully disclose or address the dangers of social media addiction. Meta did not acknowledge the existence of social media addiction, but executives at the trial acknowledged “problematic use” and said they wanted people to feel good about the time they spent on Meta’s platforms.
“The evidence shows not only that Meta invests in security because it’s the right thing to do, but also because it’s good for business,” Meta attorney Kevin Huff told jurors in closing arguments. “Meta designs its apps to help people connect with friends and family, not to try to connect predators.”
Tech companies have been shielded from liability for content posted on their social media platforms under Section 230, a 30-year-old provision of the U.S. Communications Decency Act, as well as a First Amendment shield.
New Mexico prosecutors say Meta should still be held accountable for its role in spreading this content through complex algorithms that proliferate material that is harmful to children.
“We know the result is supposed to be commitment and time spent with the children,” prosecutor Linda Singer said. “This choice made by Meta has profound negative impacts on children. »
The New Mexico trial examined a series of internal correspondences and reports related to child safety. Jurors also heard testimony from Meta executives, platform engineers, whistleblowers who left the company, psychiatric experts and technology security consultants.
The jury also heard testimony from local public school educators who have struggled with social media-related disruptions, including sextortion schemes targeting children.
In reaching its verdict, the jury considered whether social media users were misled by specific statements about platform security from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Instagram head Adam Mosseri, and Meta global head of security Antigone Davis.
Jurors also considered Meta’s failure to enforce its ban on users under 13, the role of its algorithms in prioritizing sensational or harmful content and the prevalence of social media content about teen suicide.
ParentsSOS, a coalition of families who have lost children to harm caused by social media, called the verdict a “watershed moment.”
“We, parents who have experienced the unimaginable – the death of a child due to the harms of social media – welcome this rare and momentous step in the years-long fight to hold Big Tech accountable for the dangers their products pose to our children,” the group said in a statement.
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Associated Press writer Barbara Ortutay in San Francisco contributed to this report.
