Escalation: New Mexico jury awards $375 million against Meta

A Santa Fe County jury found Meta violated New Mexico’s Unfair Practices Act on two counts, misrepresenting platform safety and engaging in unconscionable practices that enabled child sexual exploitation. Jurors set penalties at $375 million, the statutory maximum of $5,000 per violation applied to each count for 37,500 New Mexico users.

The award followed less than two days of deliberations. The state had sought more than $2 billion based on an estimated 207,800 monthly teen users, and one juror described a compromise on the headcount while opting for the maximum per-violation penalty.

Evidence included an undercover operation in which agents posed as children to document solicitations and Meta’s response. Testimony described design features that let predators reach minors and raised concerns that the company’s move to encrypt Messenger hampered access to evidence of crimes.

Meta said it will appeal. A second, judge-led phase before First Judicial District Judge Bryan Biedscheid begins May 4, when the court will hear the state’s public-nuisance claim and consider additional penalties and platform changes such as effective age verification, removing predators, and safeguards around encrypted messaging.

AI-synthesized from multiple reported sources