Meta Hit With $375M Penalty Over Child Safety

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Meta was hit with a $375 million penalty after a New Mexico jury said the company broke state consumer-protection law in a child-safety case.

Quick Take

A New Mexico jury found Meta liable and ordered $375 million in civil penalties.
State prosecutors said Meta misled users about platform safety and failed to protect minors from child predators.
Attorney General Raúl Torrez said Meta put profits ahead of children’s safety.
The ruling is part of a wider push by states to force social media companies to change how they protect young users.

Jury Finds Meta Liable in New Mexico Child-Safety Case

A New Mexico jury found Meta liable on Tuesday after a trial centered on child safety, sexual exploitation, and false or misleading claims about how safe its platforms were for minors. The jury ordered the company to pay $375 million in civil penalties under state consumer-protection law. The case was brought by New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez in 2023, and it became one of the most closely watched tech-liability trials in the country.

Torrez said the verdict backed his office’s claim that Meta chose growth and profit over child protection. In public remarks after the ruling, he said his top priority was changing the company’s “longstanding and dangerous practice” of putting profits over children’s safety. News reports also said jurors accepted the state’s view that Meta knowingly harmed children’s mental health and concealed what it knew about child sexual exploitation on its platforms.

What the State Said Meta Knew

The state’s complaint said Meta’s Facebook, Instagram, and related services exposed young users to sexual predators, harmful content, and other risks while the company gave a safer public picture. Bloomberg Law reported that state lawyers told the court Meta internally knew youth safety was not its top priority. KOB reported that New Mexico officials pointed to internal documents and employee concerns, including claims that thousands of children were seeing inappropriate adult content each day.

The jury’s verdict landed on the consumer-protection claims first, but the state’s larger theory went further than money damages alone. Reuters later reported that New Mexico asked for broad court-ordered changes to Meta’s platforms, while The Guardian said the state sought age verification, guardian-linked child accounts, and a child-safety monitor. That shows the case was not only about punishment. It was also about forcing changes in product design and company conduct.

Why the Case Matters Beyond One Company

The ruling fits a broader wave of state lawsuits aimed at social media design, youth mental health, and platform accountability. New Mexico’s case reflects a growing belief among attorneys general that consumer-protection law can be used to challenge how apps are built, not just how they moderate posts after the fact. It also reflects a wider public frustration that powerful companies can shape daily life for children while escaping meaningful oversight.

A New Mexico judge expanded penalties against Meta to $942 million, adding a $567 million abatement fund on top of earlier $375 million civil penalties after a jury found the company failed to protect young users on Facebook and Instagram. The ruling also mandates new safety… pic.twitter.com/rdBD3K3Zxy

— Richard Ricketts (@ultrabyrich) August 7, 2026

Meta has said it will appeal and has argued that it works to keep users safe while warning that harmful content and bad actors can still slip through. That defense will matter as the case moves forward, especially because the dispute now sits between two powerful claims: the company says it cannot guarantee perfect safety, while New Mexico says Meta sold a safer product story than the evidence justified. The next stage will show whether the verdict leads to deeper court-ordered changes or a long legal fight over the scope of the ruling.