In the US, a jury in New Mexico ruled on Tuesday that Meta "knowingly harmed the mental health of children and concealed what it knew about the sexual exploitation of children on its social media platforms," AP reports, writes UNN.
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This verdict, the publication writes, indicates a change in attitude towards technology companies and the government's readiness to fight them.
This landmark decision was made after nearly seven weeks of trial, while jurors in a federal court in California deliberated for more than a week on whether Meta and YouTube should be held accountable in a similar case.
Jurors in New Mexico sided with state prosecutors who argued that Meta, which owns Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, prioritized profit over safety and violated provisions of the state's unfair practices act.
The jurors agreed with claims that Meta made false and misleading statements, and also agreed that Meta engaged in "unfair" trade practices that unfairly exploited the vulnerability and inexperience of children.
The jury found thousands of violations, each counted separately towards a $375 million fine. This is less than one-fifth of the amount demanded by the prosecution.
Meta is valued at approximately $1.5 trillion, and after the verdict, the company's shares rose by 5% in early trading after the market closed, indicating that shareholders were indifferent to the news, the publication notes.
The social media conglomerate will not be forced to change its practices immediately. The judge, not the jury, must determine whether Meta's platforms created a public nuisance and whether the company should pay for programs to remedy the harm caused. The second phase of the trial will take place in May.
A Meta spokesperson said the company disagrees with the verdict and will appeal.
"We are working hard to keep users safe on our platforms and are well aware of the complexities of detecting and removing bad actors or harmful content," the spokesperson said. "We will continue to defend ourselves vigorously and remain confident in our ability to protect teens online."
Meta's lawyers stated that the company discloses risks and makes efforts to identify harmful content and negative experiences, while acknowledging that some negative material still penetrates the security system.
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The New Mexico case was one of the first to go to trial in a wave of lawsuits concerning social media and its impact on children.
More than 40 state attorneys general in the US have filed lawsuits against Meta, alleging that the company contributes to a mental health crisis among youth by intentionally designing addictive features for Instagram and Facebook.