A New Mexico lawsuit found tech giant Meta misled users and failed to protect children from attackers in Tuesday’s ruling.
A New Mexico judge on Tuesday ordered Meta to pay $375 million after finding the company violated state law by misleading users about the safety of its platforms and allegedly allowing child sexual exploitation.
Jurors found that the parent company of Facebook and Instagram violated New Mexico’s consumer protection law following a lawsuit brought by Attorney General Raul Torrez, who accused Meta of failing to protect children from predators.
“The jury’s decision is a historic victory for every child and family who paid the price for Meta’s choice to put profit over the safety of children,” said New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez. “Meta’s management knew their products were harming children, ignored the warnings of their employees, and lied to the public about what they knew. Today, the judges sided with families, teachers and child safety experts when they said enough is enough.”
MARK ZUCKERBERG FACED JUDGES AT THE PUBLIC OVER ALLEGATIONS OF HARMING YOUNG PEOPLE RELATED TO PUBLIC NEWS.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg leaves the Federal Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles, Feb. 19, after protecting the company from a historic social media addiction. (Jon Putman/Anadolu via Getty Images/Getty Images)
The ruling marks a major legal victory for the state and is believed to be the first time the state has won a lawsuit against a major technology company over allegations it harmed children through its platforms, according to the New Mexico Department of Justice.
| A ticker | Security | Finally | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| META | META PLATFORMS INC. | 592.92 | -11.14 |
-1.84% |
The lawsuit, filed by the government in 2023, alleges that Meta created a “breeding site” for child predators and misled users about security measures on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
APPLE USES AN AGE VERIFICATION TOOL TO VERIFY THAT USERS ARE 18 AND OVER ON SOME OPERATING SYSTEMS
A New Mexico judge found Meta misleading users and failing to protect children on the platform Tuesday, March 24, 2026. (Pool / Unknown)
The $375 million fine is much lower than the roughly $2.1 billion New Mexico officials had sought, although the judge awarded the maximum amount allowed under state law of $5,000 for each violation.
Meta said it disagrees with the decision and plans to appeal the decision.
META PASHER IS ALERTED ABOUT 500K CHILDREN’S CRIMES EVERY DAY ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM PLATFORMS.
Meta says it plans to appeal the decision. (Arda Kucukkaya/Anadolu via Getty Images / Getty Images)
“We respectfully disagree with the decision and will file an appeal,” a Meta spokesperson told FOX Business in a statement. “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 remain confident in our record of protecting youth online.”
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The case is separate from a high-profile Los Angeles case involving allegations that social media is contributing to youth slavery.
