The latest
A New Mexico judge on Thursday ordered Meta to pay an additional $567mn and strengthen safety features on its apps, finding the company’s platforms constituted a public nuisance that contributed significantly to harms affecting children. The award follows a March jury order for $375mn, bringing penalties in the case to $942mn. Meta disputed the latest ruling and said it would appeal.
Details
- Case allegations: Attorney-general Raúl Torrez filed the lawsuit in 2023, accusing Meta of exposing children to sexually explicit content, solicitation and human trafficking. The court had already found that recommendation algorithms steering young users towards harmful material violated New Mexico’s Unfair Practices Act. Thursday’s order addressed a separate public nuisance claim submitted for judicial determination in May.
- Evidence cited: Biedscheid cited research showing more depressive episodes, eating disorders and rising adolescent suicide rates in New Mexico. Referring to 2023 research by the US surgeon-general, he said problematic social media use and engagement-maximising features contributed. He compared the platforms’ effects with factory pollution and said families, schools, hospitals and law enforcement share the burden.
- Funds directed: About $420mn of Thursday’s award will go to community and family-based treatment programmes, with additional money assigned to prevention efforts addressing harmful behaviour cited in the case. The report did not provide a complete breakdown of the remaining amount or specify a timetable for distributing the funds.
- Platform changes: The order requires Meta to create or maintain protections for teenage users and police whether children under 13 are operating accounts. It also prohibits minors from engaging in romantic or sexualised interactions with Meta’s artificial intelligence chatbots across platforms that include Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp.
- Meta’s response: A company spokesperson said Meta works to keep users safe and has been transparent about difficulties identifying and removing harmful content and bad actors. The company said claims in the case misrepresented its record of protecting teenagers online, while confirming that it disagreed with the ruling and would appeal.
- Wider significance: Torrez called the judgment a “blueprint” and said it was the first time a court had held a social media group liable for products endangering children while requiring changes to its business model. The Financial Times said the case could encourage similar actions, comparisons being drawn with litigation against Big Tobacco in the 1990s.
Background
A Los Angeles jury in March held Meta and Google liable for designing platforms addictive to children and failing to warn users. It awarded a combined $6mn to a 20-year-old plaintiff who said childhood social media addiction harmed her mental health. Both companies have appealed.
What’s next
Meta’s appeal filing is the next formal step. Key indicators will be any decision to stay enforcement, then implementation of age-account checks, chatbot restrictions and other teen safeguards, alongside allocation of treatment and prevention funds.
