Meta faces lawsuit in the US that could result in a $1.4 trillion fine over practices involving minors

Meta has been ordered to pay a fine of $942 million (equivalent to R$ 4.8 billion) following a judicial decision issued by the State of New Mexico in the United States. The court held the company responsible for damages caused to children and adolescents through Facebook and Instagram. In addition to the compensation, the company will be required to implement new measures to limit minors' access to its platforms within the state.

This ruling, released on Thursday (the 6th), represents a considerable increase in the cost of the company's first major conviction related to child safety on social media. Judge Bryan Biedscheid ordered Meta to establish a fund of $567 million (R$ 2.9 billion) dedicated to compensating for damages generated by the company's social networks. This amount is added to the $375 million (R$ 1.9 billion) in civil penalties previously set by a jury.

The magistrate justified the creation of this new fund due to the vast extent of the observed impacts and the complexity of the actions needed to mitigate such damages. Despite being a substantial amount, it remained below the $779.5 million (R$ 4 billion) sought by the State's lawyers.

Beyond financial compensation, Meta must apply specific changes aimed at underage users residing in New Mexico. Among the obligations imposed by the Court, the company issued a statement declaring its disagreement with the ruling and its intention to appeal. A company spokesperson stated: 'We remain confident in our history of protecting online teenagers and will continue to defend ourselves against allegations that distort the facts.'

The lawsuit was initiated by the state's attorney general, Raúl Torrez, who accused Meta of allowing young people to be exposed to sexually explicit material and becoming easy targets for predators on the platforms. In March, a jury had concluded that the company intentionally violated state consumer protection laws.

This case is considered a legal milestone as it is the first trial to directly examine whether social media companies can be held liable for the risks and content present in their services. The incident in New Mexico is part of hundreds of lawsuits filed against Meta by attorneys general from various American states, school districts, and users. The allegations point out that the company prioritized the growth of its platforms over the safety of children and adolescents.

A subsequent trial, conducted by attorneys general from four U.S. states, is scheduled for the following week in California. According to documents provided by Meta itself to the Court, the plaintiffs in this new action are seeking damages exceeding $1 trillion (R$ 5.1 trillion).

The company faced another setback this year when a jury in Los Angeles concluded that both Meta and YouTube were responsible for the mental health issues reported by a young person who attributed the development of these disorders to excessive platform use. The previous week, Meta announced that it spent $2.4 billion (R$ 12.3 billion) solely on litigation during the second quarter of this year.

Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, has received a significant blow from a court in New Mexico. The court ruled that Meta must pay 567 million US dollars (equivalent to approximately 500 billion rupees) to compensate for the harm caused to young people on its platforms.

This decision was made during the second phase of an important lawsuit, in which the social media company had already lost in March. In the ruling issued late Thursday evening, Judge Brian Bidshid stated that a large portion of this sum—420 million US dollars—will be allocated to cover the treatment costs for young people.

The remaining amount must be used over the next five years to fund awareness campaigns, prevention measures, screening services, and other expenses.

It is worth noting that in the first phase, the jury already imposed a fine of 375 million US dollars on Meta, which is separate from the current ruling. The jury found that the company intentionally harmed children's mental health and concealed information about child sexual exploitation on its platform.

In the second round of the legal proceedings, state attorneys demanded that the judge mandate fundamental changes at Meta. These changes were supposed to include banning addictive features, improving age verification procedures, and preventing child sexual exploitation by strengthening controls and setting default privacy settings.