US court slaps Meta with $567M-fine over child safety case

International

META, a multinational technology company, has been slapped with a whopping fine of $567 million in a landmark child safety case.

A US judge in New Mexico ordered Meta to pay the amount on Thursday after finding that the company failed to warn the public about dangers its platforms posed to children.

The latest order comes on top of a $375 million penalty Meta was already ordered to pay in the same case, making the combined financial ruling nearly $1 billion.

The money will be placed into a fund aimed at reducing future harm.

According to a BBC report, Judge Bryan Biedscheid described Meta as a “public nuisance” comparable to air pollution. He said the company’s platforms operate like a factory, with advertising and content serving as its products and “the psychological harm and sexual exploitation of children to be the pollution that must be abated”.

Meta, which owns and operates Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp and Threads, has previously said it intended to appeal the earlier $375 million verdict.(MyTVCebu)