Meta Fined $567M in Landmark Child Safety Ruling
A US judge orders Meta to pay an additional $567 million, bringing total penalties in the New Mexico case to $942 million.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- A US judge in New Mexico orders Meta to pay an extra $567 million
- Total fines in this specific child safety case reach $942 million
- The judge classifies the social media giant as a public nuisance
- Meta strongly disagrees with the verdict and plans to appeal
A US judge in New Mexico, Judge Bryan Biedscheid, ordered Meta on Thursday to pay an additional $567 million (£421 million) for failing to warn the public about the dangers its platforms present to children. This decision marks the largest judicial ruling against the company regarding child safety issues to date.
This new financial penalty comes on top of $375 million in fines that Meta was previously ordered to pay in the same lawsuit, pushing the total amount to $942 million. Judge Biedscheid compared Meta to an industrial factory, describing advertising and content as its products while framing psychological harm and the sexual exploitation of children as the pollution that must be abated.
The funds that Meta has been ordered to establish will be directed toward mitigating the wide-ranging impacts of the harm caused, according to the judge. A portion of the money will also support awareness and prevention training for teachers and health professionals. Furthermore, the court mandated several operational restrictions specifically for users under the age of 18:
- Ensure no account belonging to a user under 18 is recommended to adults
- Prevent adults from messaging underage users
- Ban sending or receiving nudity for underage users
- Implement a one-strike policy for adult users engaging in child sexual exploitation
- Eliminate like counts for users under 18
- Ban push notifications for such users every day between 10:00 PM and 7:00 AM
- Prohibit push notifications during the typical school year between 8:00 AM and 3:00 PM, except weekends
- Enforce a mandatory usage limit of 90 cumulative hours per month across Instagram and Facebook
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
"We disagree with the ruling and will appeal. 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."
Meta Spokesman
A spokesperson for Meta—which owns and operates Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Threads—stated on Thursday that the company disagrees with the ruling and intends to appeal. The representative emphasized that the firm works diligently to protect individuals on its platforms and maintains transparency regarding the complexities of detecting and removing bad actors and harmful material.
The legal action originated from a 2023 lawsuit filed by New Mexico state attorneys, who argued that Meta should be held accountable for recommendation algorithms exposing children to sexually explicit materials and sexual predators. Declaring a social media platform a public nuisance is an unprecedented legal milestone in the US. Meanwhile, Meta faces thousands of related lawsuits nationwide, with another major trial scheduled to begin next week in California involving attorneys general from nearly three dozen states suing over child privacy violations.
Source: BBCBusiness
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