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New Mexico Jury Orders Meta to Pay $375 Million in Consumer Protection Case

By  |  March 24, 2026

A New Mexico jury on Tuesday ruled against Meta Platforms in a lawsuit brought by the state’s attorney general, finding that the company misled users about the safety of its social media platforms and failed to adequately prevent child sexual exploitation, according to Reuters.

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    The jury determined that Meta violated the state’s consumer protection law and ordered the company to pay $375 million in civil penalties, per Reuters. The decision followed a six-week trial and represents the first jury verdict addressing these specific allegations against the company.

    “We respectfully disagree with the verdict and will appeal.” a Meta spokesperson said 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.”

    Representatives for the New Mexico attorney general did not immediately respond to requests for comment, according to Reuters.

    The case is part of a broader wave of legal and regulatory scrutiny facing Meta over concerns about how its platforms affect young users’ mental health. New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez accused the company of enabling predators to access minors and connect with them, sometimes resulting in real-world abuse and human trafficking, per Reuters. Meta denied the allegations, maintaining that it has extensive safeguards designed to protect younger users.

    The lawsuit stems in part from a 2023 undercover operation conducted by the attorney general’s office. Investigators created accounts posing as users under the age of 14 on Facebook and Instagram and reported receiving explicit material and contact from adults seeking similar content, according to Reuters. Authorities said the operation led to criminal charges against multiple individuals.

    State officials argued that Meta publicly portrayed Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp as safe for children while concealing internal concerns about harmful content and exploitation risks. According to Reuters, the state cited internal company documents acknowledging issues related to sexual exploitation and mental health harm, while alleging that the company failed to implement basic safety measures such as age verification.

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    Read more: EU Court Adviser Recommends Dismissing Meta’s Appeals in Antitrust Data Dispute

    The lawsuit also accused Meta of designing its platforms to maximize user engagement at the expense of children’s well-being. Features such as infinite scrolling and autoplay video were cited as contributing to addictive behavior linked to depression, anxiety, and self-harm among young users, per Reuters.

    During closing arguments, Linda Singer, an attorney for the state, urged jurors to hold the company accountable. “Over the course of a decade, Meta has failed over and over again to act honestly and transparently,” she said. “It’s failed to act to protect young people in this state. It is up to you to finish this job.”

    Meta’s legal team countered that the company has been transparent about the challenges of moderating harmful content online. “What the evidence shows is Meta’s robust disclosures and tireless efforts to prevent harmful content. And these disclosures mean that Meta did not knowingly and intentionally lie to the public,” said Kevin Huff, an attorney for the company.

    The ruling comes as Meta faces thousands of additional lawsuits nationwide alleging that its platforms are intentionally designed to be addictive to young people, contributing to a broader mental health crisis. Some of those cases seek damages in the tens of billions of dollars, according to filings cited by Reuters.

    Meta has argued in multiple cases that it is protected from liability under the First Amendment and Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which generally shields online platforms from lawsuits over user-generated content. The company maintains that the alleged harms are inseparable from the content shared by users, per Reuters.

    In a related development, Judge Bryan Biedscheid, who presided over the trial, is scheduled to hold a separate bench trial in May to consider the state’s claims that Meta created a public nuisance affecting residents’ health and safety.

    Source: Reuters