US: Huge fine imposed on Meta for harm caused to minors by social media
A judge in New Mexico has ordered Meta to pay $567 million for failing to adequately protect children from the risks of social media
Meta will have to pay $567 million to the State of New Mexico for exposing minors to the risks of social media and for misleading consumers about the safety of its platforms. This was ruled by Judge Bryan Biedscheid, whose judgement is set to fuel the global debate on the protection of children online and the responsibility of Big Tech.
The decision comes after a jury had already found the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp liable in March for breaching the New Mexico Unfair Practices Act, the state legislation against unfair commercial practices. According to the case, brought in 2023 by Attorney General Raul Torrez, Meta failed to adequately protect teenagers from the dangers present on its platforms and downplayed the risks revealed by its own internal research.
During the trial, the Crown’s lawyers argued that the company’s algorithms encouraged teenagers’ exposure to potentially harmful content and made them more vulnerable to unwanted contact from adults. According to the jury, the company also provided misleading information about the safety of its services for younger users.
In addition to the financial penalty, the ruling requires Meta to make a number of operational changes. The company will have to strengthen its controls to prevent children under the age of 13 living in New Mexico from accessing Facebook and Instagram, and must submit half-yearly updates to the court on the progress made in implementing the required measures.
The judge also highlighted how certain features common across the entire social media sector – including autoplay, infinite scrolling, push notifications, ‘like’ counts and algorithmic recommendation systems – may prove particularly appealing to teenagers and contribute to increasing the time they spend on these platforms. For this reason, the ruling imposes restrictions on push notifications for users under 18, hides the number of ‘likes’ and sets a usage limit of 90 hours per month, equivalent to around three hours a day.
