{"id":2583571,"date":"2026-03-25T08:39:01","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T12:39:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/meta-ordered-to-pay-375-million-for-harming-children-in-new-mexico-case\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T08:40:46","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T12:40:46","slug":"meta-ordered-to-pay-375-million-for-harming-children-in-new-mexico-case","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/meta-ordered-to-pay-375-million-for-harming-children-in-new-mexico-case\/","title":{"rendered":"Meta ordered to pay $375 million for harming children in New Mexico case"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fmeta-ordered-to-pay-375-million-for-harming-children-in-new-mexico-case%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2583571&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A New Mexico jury ordered Meta to pay $375 million for violating the state\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nhs-director-calls-out-gwyneth-paltrow-for-covid-19-recovery-advice\/\" title=\"NHS Director Calls Out Gwyneth Paltrow For COVID-19 Recovery Advice\">consumer protection laws<\/a> by failing to disclose the risks of its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-new-acting-attorney-general-jeff-rosen-recently-wrote-an-essay-on-foreign-influence-in-us-elections-this-tells-us-a-little-about-his-knowledge-of-whats-going-on-today\/\" title=\"The New Acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen Recently Wrote an Essay on Foreign Influence in US Elections \u2013 This Tells Us A Little About His Knowledge of What\u2019s Going On Today\">social media platforms<\/a> to minors. The verdict,the result of more than two years of litigation led by the New Mexico Department of Justice,found that Meta knowingly engaged in unfair practices and deceived parents about the safety of platforms like Facebook and Instagram.<\/p>\n<p>The award is far below the $2 billion the state sought but marks New Mexico as the first state to win a case against Meta over child-safety concerns online. A second phase of the case will begin on May 4 as a bench trial to seek additional damages and require changes to Meta\u2019s platforms, such as implementing age verification and removing child predators. Meta said it will appeal and continues to defend its safety efforts.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Meta ordered to pay $375 million for harming children in New Mexico lawsuit<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2541433\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>A <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/new-mexico\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"769\">New Mexico<\/a> jury ordered <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/meta\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"8910\">Meta<\/a> to pay a $375 million fine on Tuesday for violating a state law by failing to disclose the risks of its <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/social-media\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"433\">social media<\/a> platforms&rsquo; mental toll on minors.<\/p>\n<p>The verdict is the result of more than two years of litigation led by the New Mexico Department of Justice. The state office first sued <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mark-zuckerberg\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"312\">Mark Zuckerberg&rsquo;s<\/a> company in 2023.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/technology\/4502335\/judge-anthropic-supply-chain-risk-pentagon\/\">Judge suggests Pentagon&#8217;s &#8216;supply-chain risk&#8217; label is &#8216;punishing&#8217; Anthropic<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4501939\/mamdani-taco-bell-dunkin-mukbang-celebrating-franchisee-settlement\/\">Mamdani chows on Taco Bell and Dunkin&#8217;s mukbang celebrating franchisee settlement<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4501817\/biden-doj-more-subpoenas-kash-patel-gop-records\/\">Biden DOJ sought more subpoenas for Patel and Republicans than previously known, records show<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The civil trial centered on New Mexico&rsquo;s allegations that Meta violated state consumer protection laws and deceived parents about the safety of its platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram. After deliberations started on Monday, the jury found that the company knowingly violated the Unfair Practices Act.<\/p>\n<p>The law normally permits civil penalties worth up to $5,000 per willful violation, but Meta was hit with $375 million in damages due to the large number of violations.<\/p>\n<p>The fine is still lower than the amount that an attorney representing New Mexico in the case asked the jury to grant, which was at least $2 billion in damages.<\/p>\n<p>New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez celebrated the jury&rsquo;s ruling.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The jury&rsquo;s verdict is a historic victory for every child and family who has paid the price for Meta&rsquo;s choice to put profits over kids&rsquo; safety,&rdquo; <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/nmdoj.gov\/press-release\/new-mexico-department-of-justice-wins-landmark-verdict-against-meta\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/nmdoj.gov\/press-release\/new-mexico-department-of-justice-wins-landmark-verdict-against-meta\/\">he said<\/a>. &ldquo;Meta executives knew their products harmed children, disregarded warnings from their own employees, and lied to the public about what they knew. Today the jury joined families, educators, and child safety experts in saying enough is enough.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>New Mexico is the first state to succeed in a court case against Meta over its child exploitation practices, Torrez said. The company disputed the allegations.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We respectfully disagree with the verdict and will appeal,&rdquo; a Meta spokesperson said. &ldquo;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 we remain confident in our record of protecting teens online.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>During the jury trial&rsquo;s closing arguments, Meta&rsquo;s attorney insisted the company was disclosing its platforms&rsquo; risks to the public &ldquo;wherever it could get its message out.&rdquo; Meanwhile, the plaintiff&rsquo;s attorney pointed to evidence that showed Meta failed to enforce its minimum user age of 13.<\/p>\n<p>New Mexico&rsquo;s top legal official is not done with litigating the case yet, however.<\/p>\n<p>The second phase will begin on May 4 with a bench trial, which is conducted without a jury. In this stage, the state&rsquo;s lawyers will ask the judge to impose additional damages on Meta and require the company to make changes to its platforms and company operations. Two such changes would be enacting an age-verification policy and removing child predators from Meta&rsquo;s platforms.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4461445\/mark-zuckerberg-grilled-meta-targeting-teenagers-social-media-addiction-trial\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/4461445\/mark-zuckerberg-grilled-meta-targeting-teenagers-social-media-addiction-trial\/\">ZUCKERBERG GRILLED ON META&rsquo;S TARGETING OF TEENAGERS IN SOCIAL MEDIA ADDICTION TRIAL<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;In the next phase of this legal proceeding, we will <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >seek additional financial penalties<\/a> and court-mandated changes to Meta&rsquo;s platforms that offer stronger protections for children,&rdquo; Torrez said.<\/p>\n<p>The judge will ultimately determine whether Meta created a public nuisance and, if it did, whether it should fund public programs to help alleviate the alleged harms against children.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Meta fined $375M in NM child-safety case<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2159,"featured_media":2583572,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AP26055474960269.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[69763,4585,9276,76494,9811],"class_list":["post-2583571","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-child-safety-2","tag-lawsuit","tag-meta","tag-new-mexico-2","tag-settlement"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AP26055474960269.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2583571","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2159"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2583571"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2583571\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2583575,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2583571\/revisions\/2583575"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2583572"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2583571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2583571"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2583571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}