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The New Mexico Department of Justice is seeking nearly $1 billion from Facebook parent Meta after a New Mexico jury last month found the tech giant liable for endangering children and misleading the public about the safety of its platforms.
Following last month’s verdict, Meta was ordered to pay the maximum civil penalty allowed by law — $5,000 per violation — for breaching the state’s Unfair Practices Act, totaling $375 million.
A recent filing asked the court to force Meta to pay $953 million into a fund that would support public education and behavioral health work, according to a report from SourceNM.
FILE – Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on January 31, 2024 in Washington, DC. The committee heard testimony from the heads of the largest tech firms on the dangers of child sexual exploitation on social media. ((Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images))
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez previously argued executives chose to “put profits over kids’ safety,” disregarded warnings from their own employees, and lied to the public about what they knew.
Torrez alleged Meta’s specific design choices enabled pedophiles and predators to sexually exploit children on its platforms.
FILE – New Mexico prosecutors accused Meta of operating unsafe platforms for children and not being honest with the public. (Anna Barclay/Getty Images)
He added the company intentionally designed its apps to addict young users, exposing them to dangerous content promoting self-harm and eating disorders.
The state’s requested abatement amount was dropped more than 90% from its initial demands.
A Meta spokesperson told Fox News Digital that throughout the trial, the New Mexico Attorney General “continued his misguided strategy of proposing mandates that would risk leaving teens less safe, infringe on parental rights and stifle free expression.”
FILE – Meta, which owns Instagram, was found negligent for operating a platform that addicted a young user and created mental health distress in an unprecedented ruling by a Los Angeles jury in March. (Joan Cros/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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“Even the judge noted those mandates could be an “overreach,” the spokesperson said. “The State’s case ignores the hundreds of apps teens use daily and fails to provide scientific or legal justification for their demands of Meta. We remain committed to providing safe, age-appropriate experiences and have already launched many of the protections the state seeks, including 13 safety measures this past year.”