Meta fined $567m in largest child safety ruling against social media giant

A US judge in New Mexico has ordered social media giant Meta to pay $567 million in one of the largest rulings against the company over child safety. This ruling comes on top of a previous $375 million fine, totaling $942 million. Judge Bryan Biedscheid described Meta as a public nuisance, comparable to air pollution, and required the company to fund a program aimed at reducing future harms.

The judge likened Meta to a factory, with advertising and content as its product and the psychological harm and sexual exploitation of children as the pollution that must be addressed. Meta, which owns Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Threads, stated it disagrees with the ruling and will appeal. The company claimed it works hard to keep people safe on its platforms and remains confident in its record of protecting teens online.

The New Mexico case, the first successful lawsuit against Meta over child safety, stems from a 2023 lawsuit arguing the company should be held liable for exposing children to sexually explicit material and predatory contacts. The judge also ordered Meta to create a fund to mitigate the harms caused by its platforms, with a majority of the money to be used for treatment and prevention programs targeting children.