Meta To Pay £279m in Damages Over Child Safety Breaches

By Youssef Bashir

Photo by Xinhua/Barcroft Media

A court in New Mexico has ordered Meta to pay the equivalent of £279m. A jury found that Meta was liable for the way in which its platforms endangered children and exposed them to sexually explicit material and contact with sexual predators. 

State prosecutors showed internal Meta research that found 16% of all Instagram users had reported being shown unwanted nudity or sexual activity in a single week. 

"Today the jury joined families, educators, and child safety experts in saying enough is enough," New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez said.