A US jury has found Meta Platforms violated New Mexico state law in a lawsuit brought by the state attorney-general, who accused the company of misleading users about the safety of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp and of enabling child sexual exploitation on its platforms.
After deliberating for less than a day, the jury found that Meta violated New Mexico’s consumer protection law and ordered the company to pay US$375-million in civil penalties.
The verdict marks the first time a jury has ruled on such claims against Meta, as the company faces a wave of lawsuits over how its platforms affect young people’s mental health.
“We respectfully disagree with the verdict and will appeal,” a Meta spokesman said. “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.”
New Mexico attorney-general Raúl Torrez called the verdict “a historic victory for every child and family who has paid the price for Meta’s choice to put profits over kids’ safety”.
“The substantial damages the jury ordered Meta to pay should send a clear message to big tech executives that no company is beyond the reach of the law,” he said.
In a second phase of the trial in May, Torrez said his office will ask the court to order Meta to make changes to its platforms to protect children and to impose additional financial penalties.
Increasing scrutiny
Meta shares were up 0.8% in after-hours trade following the verdict. The state had asked the jury to award more than $2-billion in damages.
The jury’s decision capped a six-week trial in Santa Fe. Torrez had accused the company of allowing predators unfettered access to underage users and connecting them with victims, often leading to real-world abuse and human trafficking.
Meta denied the allegations, saying it has extensive safeguards in place to protect younger users.
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Meta has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years over its handling of child and teen safety, spurred in part by whistle-blower testimony before the US congress in 2021 that alleged the company knew its products could be harmful but refused to act.
Separately, Meta faces thousands of lawsuits accusing it and other social media companies of intentionally designing their products to be addictive to young people, leading to a nationwide mental health crisis. Some of the lawsuits seek damages in the tens of billions of dollars.
A state court jury in Los Angeles is currently deliberating in the first trial over the addiction claims.
The New Mexico lawsuit grew out of an undercover operation run by Torrez’s office in 2023. Investigators created accounts on Facebook and Instagram posing as users younger than 14. The accounts received sexually explicit material and were contacted by adults seeking similar content, leading to criminal charges against multiple individuals.
The state claimed Meta told the public that Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp are safe for teens and children while hiding the truth about how much dangerous content the company hosts. Internal company documents acknowledged problems with sexual exploitation and mental health harm, yet Meta did not institute basic safety tools such as age verification, the state argued.
The state also accused Meta of designing its platforms to maximise engagement despite evidence they were harming children’s mental health. Features such as infinite scroll and auto-play videos keep children on the platforms, fostering addictive behaviour that can lead to depression, anxiety and self-harm, the lawsuit claimed.
The jury found that Meta had violated the state’s consumer protection law by knowingly engaging in an unfair or deceptive trade practice. It also found the company’s actions were unconscionable. The jury found 75 000 violations and awarded $5 000/violation.
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In May, Judge Bryan Biedscheid is set to hold a trial without a jury on the state’s claims that Meta created a public nuisance that harmed residents’ health and safety. The state will ask Biedscheid to direct Meta to make changes to its platforms, including adding effective age verification and removing predators. – © 2026 NewsCentral Media
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