Meta must pay $375 million. A New Mexico court ordered the payment. This ruling addresses claims of misleading users about child safety on its platforms.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez filed the lawsuit. It alleged Meta designed its platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, to be addictive for children. The suit also claimed Meta failed to protect young users from exploitation.
The court issued a default judgment against Meta. This occurred because Meta repeatedly failed to comply with discovery orders. The judge cited “willful, bad faith discovery conduct” in the ruling.
Meta plans to appeal the judgment. The company stated the ruling is “legally and factually baseless.” Meta claims it provided millions of pages of documents and dozens of depositions during the process.
This case forms part of a larger legal challenge against Meta. New Mexico is one of 33 states suing the company over similar allegations. The $375 million will establish a fund to support child safety initiatives and address mental health issues linked to social media use in New Mexico.
