Meta to Pay $375 Million for Violating New Mexico Laws
Technology giant Meta has been found liable for deliberately violating New Mexico law. The jury found that Meta misled users about the safety of its products and engaged in an unconscionable business practice. The company is now facing a monumental fine of $375 million, calculated at a maximum of $5,000 per violation for 37,500 violations spread across two counts. On all counts, the jury found against Meta, although it did not award as high a fine as the state sought, which could have been closer to $2 billion.
Jury Delivers Historic Verdict Against Meta
The verdict, delivered just a day after the closing arguments, is historic in nature. The prosecution on behalf of New Mexico argued that Meta consciously ignored state laws by deceiving consumers and facilitating child predators on their platform. The state used decoy accounts on Facebook, a Meta-owned platform, to lure suspected predators to profiles that appeared to belong to minors. The result was a flood of requests and messages from adults. Meta, on the other hand, staunchly denied the allegations, claiming that the state’s investigation was flawed and that they had been transparent about the safety of its products.
Legal Battles Involving Meta’s Product Safety Continues
Besides the New Mexico case, another verdict involving Meta’s product safety is expected soon in Los Angeles. In this case, the jury has been deliberating for more than a week and the allegations also encompass Google’s YouTube. Several other cases are waiting in the wings for a decision. The New Mexico verdict is a significant victory for a unique legal strategy pursued by Attorney General Raúl Torrez, focused on the design of the technology platform itself, in an effort to overcome the defense of online content protection.
New Mexico Leads the Charge Against Meta
“New Mexico is proud to be the first state to hold Meta accountable in court for misleading parents, enabling child exploitation and harming children,” Torrez said in a statement. “In the next phase of this legal process, we will seek additional financial sanctions and court-imposed changes to Meta’s platforms that provide greater protection to children.”
Meta Plans to Appeal Against the Verdict
Meta, however, disagrees with the verdict and plans to appeal, as per a statement from Meta spokesman Francis Brennan. “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 ability to protect teens online.”
For more information on this case, visit the original source Here.
