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Tue, 24 Mar 2026

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 Meta told to pay $375m for misleading users over child safety

The owner of Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp has been found liable by a court in New Mexico.
A New Mexico court has ordered Meta to pay $375m for misleading users over the safety of its platforms for children. The company was found liable for putting kids at risk and exposing them to explicit material and predators. Meta's chairman Mark Zuckerberg disputes the verdict, saying they're committed to keeping people safe on their platforms. However, evidence presented during a 7-week trial showed that internal documents revealed Meta knew about child predators using its sites and had been experimenting with serving underage users sexualized content. A former Meta employee testified that his own young daughter was propositioned for sex on Instagram. The verdict marks the first time a US state has successfully sued Meta over child safety issues, with New Mexico's Attorney General calling it "historic".