In a historic victory, a jury has found Meta liable in a New Mexico case that claims Meta failed to protect children from sexual exploitation.
AG Torrez decided to bring a lawsuit against Meta, State of New Mexico ex. rel. v. Meta Platforms, Inc. et al.The lawsuit alleged that Meta neglected to implement safeguards that would have mitigated child sexual exploitation, while also misleading users about the safety of its platforms.
And now, this lawsuit has culminated in a truly historic victory: the jury has found Meta liable on all counts and ordered the company to pay $375 million in damages.
For decades, social media companies like Meta have been able to hide behind the shield of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act—a law that courts have misinterpreted as providing tech platforms with near blanket immunity from liability for any harms caused by their products. As a result, the vast majority of lawsuits brought against tech companies are thrown out before they even get started.
For a case to make it to trial is almost unheard of … let alone for a verdict to find the tech company liable. The implications of this breakthrough cannot be overstated.
This is the first major civil lawsuit brought against a social media company for harming kids that has resulted in a jury trial and a victorious verdict.
AG Torrez stated that Meta has created a “breeding ground” for sexual predators.
Evidence in the case includes documents provided by Meta, which showed that over 100,000 children were exploited daily across its platforms.When AG Torrez launched an investigation into Meta, his team utilized a fake profile of a 12-year-old girl to test the harms children experience. During the course of the investigation, three adult men attempted to meet the “12-year-old girl” in person and were subsequently arrested, while several other men contacted the profile to solicit child sexual abuse material (CSAM, the more apt word for “child pornography”).
Meta was repeatedly informed about the rampant sexual exploitation on its platforms but neglected to address it.
Meta even dismissed these problems when their own executives raised them.
Further, Meta misled parents and users about the safety of its products. For example, Haley’s deposition testimony explains how Meta’s guide neglected to disclose any information about the rampant sexual exploitation on the platform. Rather, it led parents to believe that the main risk was bullying.
New Mexico v Meta Inc is part of a larger wave of legal action that is reaching unprecedented milestones.
For example, a collection of lawsuits representing thousands of plaintiffs are currently being heard in a Los Angeles Superior Court. These cases allege that Meta (Facebook & Instagram), Snapchat, TikTok, and Alphabet (YouTube & Google) knowingly designed their products to addict minor users, knowing full well the scale of harm this caused to their mental health. A jury is currently deliberating a verdict for the first of the bellwether cases.
Source: BREAKING! Jury Finds Meta Liable for Child Harm and Sexual Exploitation