Social media giant Meta ordered to pay $567 million in New Mexico child safety ruling

A New Mexico judge has ordered Meta to pay $567 million after finding the social media company liable for harming children. According to ABC News AU, the ruling is part of a landmark trial and the money will be used for treatment services for young people. The judge, Bryan Biedscheid, ruled that Meta had created a public nuisance in New Mexico.

The company was accused of designing its products to addict young users and failing to protect children from sexual exploitation on its platforms, as reported by ABC News AU. Meta has said it will appeal the ruling, stating that it has been working to identify and remove harmful content from its platforms.

The $567 million fine is in addition to a previous $375 million verdict, making the total $942 million, according to BBC World and BBC News. The judge compared 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 abated.

Brief written by urgent.news from France 24, ABC News AU, Le Monde English, BBC World, BBC News — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.