Meta has been ordered to pay $375 million in a child abuse lawsuit in New Mexico.

MaticHoleFiller · 2026-04-04T01:26:02+00:00

A New Mexico jury has ruled that Meta must pay $375 million in damages for failing to protect children using its platform, allegedly violating consumer protection laws. Attorney General Raul Torres called this a historic victory, and Meta stated it will appeal. Following the verdict, the company's stock price rose by 0.8%.

MaticHoleFiller

2026-04-04 01:26:02

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Local time Tuesday, a jury in the U.S. state of New Mexico ruled that Meta must pay 375 million dollars in civil damages. In this lawsuit, New Mexico’s attorney general accused the Facebook and Instagram operator of failing to protect children who use its apps from child sexual predators.

The civil trial opened last month in Santa Fe and focused on allegations that Meta allegedly violated the state’s consumer protection laws and misled residents, causing them to misunderstand the safety of apps such as Facebook and Instagram. New Mexico’s attorney general, Raúl Torres, filed the lawsuit against Meta in 2023. Previously, he had conducted an undercover investigation and created a fake social media account for a 13-year-old girl. Torres, in an interview, said that the account “was filled with images from pedophiles and targeted promotional messages.”

This is the first time a jury has reached a verdict on this kind of allegations against Meta. The company is facing a large number of lawsuits, all of which accuse its platform of harming young people’s mental health.

In a statement, a Meta spokesperson said: “We disagree with this verdict and will appeal. We have always been committed to ensuring users’ safety on our platform, and we clearly understand the challenges involved in identifying and removing bad actors or harmful content.”

In a statement, Raúl Torres, New Mexico’s Democratic attorney general, said the ruling was “a historic victory for every child and family that has paid the price for Meta putting profits ahead of children’s safety.”

He added: “The jury’s order that Meta pay a massive sum in damages should send a clear message to the executives of big tech: no company can be above the law.”

After the verdict was announced, Meta’s share price rose 0.8% in after-hours trading, as the compensation amount the company was ordered to pay was far lower than the more than 2 billion dollars that New Mexico had previously sought.

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