In a landmark legal defeat, a New Mexico court slapped Meta Platforms with a $375 million fine for failing to protect minors on its platforms — Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. The case, brought by the state’s attorney general, centered on incidents of child sexual exploitation.
Investigators had created fake accounts posing as children under 14 to test the adequacy of Meta’s safety mechanisms — and found them woefully lacking. After a three-week trial, the jury needed less than a single day to find that Meta had violated the law. It marks the first time a child safety case against the tech giant has been decided by a jury.
Meta has announced it will appeal the verdict.