Meta ordered to pay record $567m over child safety failures

A US judge in New Mexico has ordered Meta to pay a further $567m (£421m) after ruling that the company failed to warn the public about dangers its platforms posed to children.

The decision is the largest ruling against Meta in a child-safety case. It adds to the $375m in fines the social media company had already been ordered to pay in the same case.

Judge Bryan Biedscheid said Meta was a “public nuisance”, comparing the company’s impact on children to the effects of air pollution. He ordered that the new payment be placed in a fund intended to reduce future harm.

The ruling focuses on the responsibility of the company, which owns and operates Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp and Threads, to alert the public to risks associated with its services.

In his comparison, Judge Biedscheid likened Meta to a factory. He described advertising and content as the company’s product, while “the psychological harm and sexual exploitation of children” represented “the pollution that must be abated”.

The judge’s order means Meta faces a further substantial financial penalty over its handling of child safety concerns. The new $567m sum is separate from the earlier $375m verdict in the case, bringing the total amount ordered against the company in the proceedings to $942m.

Meta had previously said it intended to appeal the earlier ruling. The company has now been contacted by the BBC for a response to the latest decision.

The case centres on allegations that Meta did not adequately warn users and the wider public about the potential dangers children could face on its platforms. Judge Biedscheid’s ruling treats those alleged failures as a public harm requiring financial action to limit the possibility of further damage.

His decision also sets out how the penalty is intended to be used. Rather than being treated only as a fine, the $567m payment must go into a fund aimed at reducing future harms linked to the issues identified in the case.

The ruling represents the biggest child-safety judgment against Meta to date, adding to the legal and financial pressure facing the company over the way its platforms affect children.

Meta, whose services include some of the world’s best-known social media and messaging platforms, has not yet provided a public response to the latest order. The BBC has contacted the company for comment.