Meta's Reckoning: $375M Verdict for Harming Children
 

WASHINGTON, DC (March 24, 2026) – Enough Is Enough^® applauds the jury’s verdictin New Mexico for finding Meta liable for harming children on its platforms. Meta will have to pay $375 million in damages.

“Meta has knowingly enabled child sexual exploitation on its platforms and harmed children irreparably, refusing to put the safety of children over profits for over a decade. The legal precedent this verdict sets is tremendous, as it not only holds Big Tech accountable but also liable, and that’s where it hurts. In fact, a verdict like this hits all of Big Tech’s pressure points – it negatively impacts their bottom line, creates a nightmare of bad press, affirms the need for common sense legislation, sends a clarion call to other Big Tech companies to put safety over profits, and empowers other plaintiffs and prosecutors to pursue litigation,” said Donna Rice Hughes, President and CEO, Enough Is Enough^®.

Evidence presented during the trial revealed that over 500,000 children were targeted with sexually inappropriate messages per day on Facebook. Unsealed filings also reference 7.5 million child sexual abuse material reports that allegedly wouldn’t be disclosed after Zuckerberg’s 2019 decision to make Facebook Messenger end-to-end encrypted by default. Instagram’s former head of safety said that Meta wouldn’t remove an account reportedly engaged in sex trafficking unless it was reported at least 17 times.

“This huge $375 million verdict is critical in turning the tide for Big Tech companies like Meta to be part of the solution, instead of fueling the problem of enabling the online exploitation and abuse of children. Just like the lawsuits against Big Tobacco, this legal victory on behalf of children, families, and the movement to hold Big Tech accountable conveys that there’s a very big price to pay by Big Tech for harming children online. The tide is turning, and it’s about time,” Hughes said.