SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANIES FOUND LIABLE FOR INTENTIONALLY HARMING CHILDREN ON THEIR PLATFORMS IN NM & CA

(Austin, TX) – Social media companies like Meta and Google have been found guilty of intentionally harming minors through addictive or negligent designs and operations, as verdicts in both New Mexico and California were announced this week.

With the New Mexico case, a grand jury deemed Meta’s platforms, such as Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, are unsafe for children, as the design of these platforms enables the exploitation of children and violates New Mexico’s Unfair Practices Act. The jury ruled that Meta would pay $375 million in civil penalties to New Mexico due to the harm caused in the state.

In California, both Meta and Google, the parent company of YouTube, were found negligent and failed to warn users of the dangers associated with these social media platforms. The companies were ordered to pay $3 million to a harmed child.

The addictive nature of social media platforms has been highlighted in recent years, including with a 2024 study conducted by Pew Research finding that nearly half of all teens say they are online “almost constantly,” up from 24% just a decade ago. According to a different survey conducted by the New York Times, nearly half of Gen Zers, the first generation to have grown up with social media, believe that TikTok, Snapchat, and X (formerly Twitter) should have never been invented, and 80% associate social media with the word “addicting.”

While these platforms are known to be highly addictive, they are also causing bodily harm to children. These harms have been showcased in studies across the globe. Dr. Jonathan Haidt, the author of The Anxious Generation, identified that suicide rates for 12- to 16-year-olds increased by 146% from 2007-2018, making suicide the second leading cause of death for children aged 10-18, directly coinciding with the rise of social media usage amongst children and teens. In both 2023 and 2025, Rep. Patterson filed legislation to protect children from the harms of social media. HB 186 by Rep. Patterson in 2025, which prohibited minors from using social media platforms, passed out of the House and a Senate committee with bipartisan support, but failed to make it to the Governor’s desk. 

“This week’s rulings in both New Mexico and California finally prove the harm social media companies cause on our children. Rapid increases in rates of body dysmorphia, depression, and cyber bullying, not to mention the access adult predators have directly to our children, have led to record numbers of young people taking their own lives.” stated Rep. Patterson. “I look forward to vigorously fighting Big Tech to protect Texas children once again in the upcoming legislative session.”

State Representative Jared Patterson is serving his fourth term representing House District 106 in Denton County. Patterson is the Chairman of the Local & Consent Calendars Committee. He also serves on the House Committees on Licensing & Administrative Procedures, Transportation, and the Subcommittee on Transportation Funding. He and his family reside in Frisco.