Jurors determined the social media company was responsible for deceiving consumers concerning child safety measures.
By Rebecca Ruiz on March 24, 2026
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has refuted claims that the company purposely jeopardized children’s safety. (Credit: Bloomberg via Getty Images)
A jury in New Mexico held Meta accountable on Tuesday for misstating the safety of its platforms and putting children at risk. The court ordered Meta to pay $375 million, representing the highest fines for each breach of New Mexico’s consumer protection laws.
“Meta leaders were aware their products harmed children, dismissed warnings from their own staff, and misled the public,” stated New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez. “The significant penalties imposed by the jury should alert tech executives that no company is above the law.”
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Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, intends to challenge the jury’s ruling.
“We will continue to staunchly defend ourselves and maintain confidence in our history of safeguarding teens online,” a Meta representative, Andy Stone, expressed in a statement to the New York Times.
New Mexico’s Justice Department initiated a probe into Meta platforms in 2023 to shield children from perpetrators seeking to exploit or solicit minors sexually, among other dangers. The state’s proof consisted of findings from that probe, along with internal Meta documents and testimony from previous Meta staff, child safety specialists, law officials, and others.
The state claimed that Meta’s design features facilitated the sexual exploitation of children by predators on its platforms. This is Meta’s first loss in a string of trials this year. In Los Angeles, Meta and YouTube are sued for reportedly designing addictive products for minors. Snapchat and TikTok were implicated in that case but settled out of court.
Topics: Social Good, Meta
Rebecca Ruiz is a Senior Reporter at Mashable, covering mental health, digital culture, and technology, specializing in suicide prevention, screen use with mental health, parenting, youth well-being, and mindfulness. Her earlier roles have been at NBC News Digital and Forbes. Rebecca holds a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College and a master’s degree from U.C. Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism.