WORLD NEWS: New Mexico jury finds Meta responsible for child endangerment
In breaking news, the following story has emerged from the international scene.
The jury of a civil court in Santa Fe (New Mexico) declared Meta responsible on Tuesday, March 24, for endangering minor users of its platforms — a major decision that sets a precedent. The Californian group was ordered to pay $375 million in damages, a substantial sum but less than the approximately two billion dollars demanded by New Mexico prosecutor Raul Torrez, who initiated the proceedings.
Just minutes after the decision was announced, a Meta spokesperson said the social media giant would appeal. “We work hard to protect users of our platforms and are transparent about the challenges of identifying and suspending malicious users and harmful content,” he added.
“A clear message to tech leaders”
Prosecutor Raul Torrez took Meta to court at the end of 2023, accusing it of having endangered children, in particular by exposing them to inappropriate content and sexual predators.
“New Mexico is proud to be the first state to hold [social media operators] accountable for deceiving parents, enabling the exploitation of minors, and endangering children,” Raul Torrez said in a statement. For him, the amount awarded to the victims “should send a clear message to tech leaders,” adding that “no company is above the law.”
“This is a turning point for all parents worried about what could happen to their children when they go online,” he concluded, “and this victory is theirs.”
It took the jury less than a day to reach a decision, after six weeks of debate. The two billion requested by the prosecutor had been calculated on the basis of the number of monthly Facebook and Instagram users under the age of 18 — a little more than 200,000 people in New Mexico.
Deliberations in Los Angeles
During her pleading on Monday, the representative of the public prosecutor, Linda Singer, accused Meta of having communicated in a misleading manner about its measures to protect minors. She also criticized the Menlo Park (California) group for encouraging the overconsumption of its platforms by minors, while knowing the effects that this phenomenon could cause.
This argument was similar to that proposed during another lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles against Meta but also Google, the jury of which is also currently deliberating. In the Californian case, a young woman is seeking compensation from the two technology giants for knowingly designing their applications so that young users spend as much time as possible there. She assures that frequenting Instagram and YouTube, respective subsidiaries of Meta and Google, contributed to causing depression, anxiety, and self-image problems in her.
Until now, social network operators were protected by an American law called Section 230, which exempts them from liability regarding content posted on their sites by users. In Santa Fe, as in Los Angeles, the plaintiffs adopted a new strategy — accusing these groups of having knowingly designed their platforms to make them addictive.
A test trial
The Los Angeles trial is seen, like that in New Mexico, as an important test for the future of hundreds of other similar proceedings underway in the United States.
In the New Mexico trial, the prosecutor “did not succeed in his demonstration,” a Meta spokesperson argued before the judgment was handed down. “We will continue to defend ourselves vigorously and remain confident in our record regarding the protection of adolescents online,” the spokesperson said once the decision was known.
Apart from the appeal procedure, this case must undergo a second phase, during which the prosecutor’s position will be examined according to which Meta is guilty of disturbing public order.
With AFP
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Source: This article was originally published in another language by France 24 – Infos, news & actualités – L’information internationale en direct and has been translated and adapted for our global English-speaking audience. Read the original article here.