Arizona Tribune - Meta ordered to pay US state $567 mn to abate 'public nuisance' and child harm

Meta was previously ordered to pay $375 million in damages to New Mexico in March when a jury found the company liable for endangering children by making them vulnerable to predators on its platforms, among other harms.

"We disagree with the ruling and will appeal," Meta told AFP in a statement Thursday.

"We work hard to keep people safe on our platforms and have been transparent about the challenges of identifying and removing bad actors and harmful content," the tech giant added.

New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez sued Meta -- which makes Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp -- in 2023, alleging the company failed to protect children from online dangers.

During closing arguments, prosecutor Linda Singer told jurors that Meta's algorithms had directed adults toward content posted by teenage users while the company concealed internal findings about the risks to young people.

- Parental concerns -

In March, the jury found Meta violated the state's Unfair Practices Act by misleading consumers about the safety of its products for children.

"This case has always been about protecting children, standing up for families, and making sure that one of the world’s largest technology companies cannot profit from practices that endanger young people without consequence," Torrez said in a statement Thursday.

"Today’s decision is a victory for every parent who has worried about what social media is doing to their child and every child who deserves to grow up safer online."

Around three-quarters of the new $567 million fund should be used for mental health treatment, and it's to be paid over five years.

The remaining amount is allocated across programs for "awareness and prevention," "screening and assessment," "referral, linkage, and coordination," implementation and evaluation.

Following the ruling, Meta said the company remains "confident in our record of protecting teens online and will continue to defend ourselves against claims that misrepresent the facts."

Meta will also be required to provide the court with updates twice a year regarding its efforts to comply.

Additionally, the ruling orders Meta to make changes to its products, including making continued efforts to keep children in New Mexico who are under the age of 13 off of Facebook and Instagram.

Age verification for social media users is becoming increasingly popular by regulators around the world, though implementing such policies has proven complex and difficult.

In his ruling, New Mexico Judge Bryan Biedscheid also noted that teenagers are particularly susceptible to features that are designed to boost engagement such as autoplay, infinite scrolling, like counts, push notifications and algorithmic recommendations.

Some of these design features involve industry-wide problems and free speech issues, the ruling says.

However, the judge ordered Meta limit push notifications and usage to 90 hours a month, around three-hours daily on average, for users under age 18, in addition to hiding "like counts."

- Bellwether trials -

Thousands of lawsuits have been filed in the US seeking to hold social media companies liable for alleged harms to children and mental health.

More than 30 US states are suing Meta over similar allegations, with a potential trial set to begin in August in Oakland, California.

In July, a US teenager dropped his lawsuit against Meta just days before the trial was set to begin; the teenager also reached confidential settlements with YouTube, TikTok and Snap.

That case was considered a bellwether that could have set the tone for resolving thousands of similar lawsuits across the country.

The first bellwether trial for social media harms on mental health concluded in March, when a Los Angeles jury ordered Meta and Google to pay a 20-year-old woman $6 million.

In May, Meta, Snap, TikTok and YouTube reached confidential settlements with a Kentucky school district.

W.Stewart--AT