US Court Orders Meta to Pay $567 Million Over Child Safety Failures, Company to Appeal
A court in New Mexico has ordered Meta to pay an additional $567 million after ruling that the company failed to adequately protect children from harmful content and online exploitation on its platforms. The latest judgment raises the total penalty against the social media giant in the case to $942 million, including an earlier $375 million award.
The ruling was delivered by Judge Bryan Biedscheid, who said the impact of Meta’s platforms on children amounted to a public nuisance, drawing a comparison between the company’s operations and a factory whose pollution extends beyond its premises to affect society at large.
Judge Compares Online Harm to Pollution
In his order, Judge Biedscheid said Meta’s algorithms and advertising systems contributed to exposing minors to harmful material, with the resulting psychological harm and risk of sexual exploitation affecting not only children but also families, schools, healthcare providers and law enforcement agencies.
The court held that the effects of the platforms extend beyond the digital world, making the issue one of broader public concern rather than an isolated online problem.
Case Stems From 2023 Lawsuit
The judgment follows a lawsuit filed by the State of New Mexico in 2023, which accused Meta of exposing children to sexually explicit content and enabling contact with online predators.
Earlier in the proceedings, the court found that Meta had violated the state’s Unfair Practices Act, ruling that its recommendation algorithms directed young users toward harmful content. In the latest phase of the case, the court concluded that the resulting harm warranted both financial penalties and stronger safeguards for minors.
- Meta Announces Appeal
- Meta has rejected the ruling and confirmed that it will challenge the decision in a higher court.
In a statement, the company said it disagrees with the judgment, arguing that it has invested significantly in child safety technologies and continues to strengthen measures to detect harmful content, remove bad actors and protect teenagers across its platforms.
Court Mandates New Child Protection Measures
Besides imposing the financial penalty, the court ordered Meta to implement several additional safeguards on Facebook and Instagram to better protect underage users.
The measures include preventing adults from directly messaging minors, stopping the recommendation of children’s accounts to adult users, strengthening systems to detect and block the sharing of explicit content involving minors, and adopting a “one-strike” policy against adults found engaging in child sexual exploitation.
The company has also been directed to remove visible “like” counts for users under 18, limit notifications during school hours and late at night, and cap minors’ combined usage of Facebook and Instagram at 90 hours per month.
According to the order, around $420 million of the penalty will be used to fund mental health treatment and behavioural support programmes for children, while the remaining amount will finance prevention initiatives, awareness campaigns and training for educators and healthcare professionals.
The ruling marks another major legal setback for Meta as regulators and courts around the world continue to scrutinise the impact of social media platforms on children’s safety and mental well-being.
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