New Mexico jury orders Meta to pay $375 million in child sexual exploitation trial
Meta has been ordered to pay $375 million in civil penalties by a New Mexico jury after the company was found to have violated state consumer protection laws by enabling child sexual exploitation. Meta was accused of failing to protect underage users from adults seeking to harm them, which led to real-world abuse.
Meta has denied the allegations, and spokesperson Andy Stone posted on Threads:
“We respectfully disagree with the verdict and will appeal. We work hard to keep people safe on our platforms and are clear about the challenges of identifying and removing bad actors or harmful content. We will continue to defend ourselves vigorously, and we remain confident in our record of protecting teens online.”
Meta has denied the allegations, and spokesperson Andy Stone posted on Threads:
“We respectfully disagree with the verdict and will appeal. We work hard to keep people safe on our platforms and are clear about the challenges of identifying and removing bad actors or harmful content. We will continue to defend ourselves vigorously, and we remain confident in our record of protecting teens online.”