New Mexico social media harms lawsuit ends in $375 million verdict
Jurors in New Mexico outperformed their counterparts in California on Tuesday to award Meta a $375 million verdict for child endangerment, while a similar case is ongoing in Los Angeles County.
While the jury in Santa Fe came back with a verdict in just a few hours, a Los Angeles panel spent its eighth day deliberating on accusations that Facebook and Instagram’s parent company intentionally deceived underage users.
“The jury’s verdict is a historic victory for every child and family who paid the price for Meta’s choice to put profits over the safety of the children,” said the New Mexico Advocate. General Raúl Torrez filed a lawsuit in 2023, claiming that the social media giant’s platforms “enable pedophiles and predators to participate in the sexual exploitation of children.”
“The significant 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,” Torrez added.
Meta has vowed to appeal the decision.
“We respectfully disagree with the decision and will appeal,” Meta said in a statement on Tuesday. “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. We will continue to defend ourselves vigorously and remain confident in our record of protecting young people online.”
New Mexico’s case was the second of its kind to reach a jury, about a week after the California case was filed Jan. 27 in Los Angeles Superior Court. Many of the same experts testified in both cases, seeking to show that Meta had designed its products to be used by young children and to expose them to harm.
At issue in the California case was whether Instagram and co-defendant YouTube were designed to addict children and whether the companies warned families of these dangers.
The Santa Fe jury deliberated for only seven hours before reaching a verdict; This was a tiny fraction of the $2 billion the state requested.
Meanwhile, jurors in Los Angeles sent questions to the court, indicating that they had reached a decision on compensation for one of the defendants, while the other could be deadlocked on liability.
Grieving parents who camped out in the courtrooms for more than a week to hear the California decision applauded and hugged as they watched the New Mexico decision livestreamed. They and others hope these early decisions could change the way social media giants approach child safety and rewrite the rules of engagement for the youngest users.
With thousands of related lawsuits pending together in California state and federal court, a Delaware court ruled earlier this month that Meta alone could be on the hook for billions of dollars in losses — money that insurers are not responsible for covering.
