A New Mexico jury found Meta liable for misleading customers and endangering children, marking a landmark ruling against one of the world’s most powerful technology companies.

The jury ordered Meta to pay $375 million in penalties in the case, following more than two years of litigation, finding that it violated New Mexico’s consumer protection laws. At trial, the state presented evidence it said showed Meta’s platforms allowed pedophiles to sexually exploit minors and that the company designs its platforms to be addictive to children.

“The jury’s verdict is a historic victory for every child and family who has paid the price for Meta’s choice to put profits over kids’ safety,” New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez said in a statement. “Meta executives knew their products harmed children, disregarded warnings from their own employees, and lied to the public about what they knew. Today the jury joined families, educators, and child safety experts in saying enough is enough.”

The ruling makes New Mexico the “first state to hold Meta accountable in court for misleading parents, enabling child exploitation, and harming kids,” he added, noting that the state is seeking additional penalties and court-ordered changes to Meta platforms in the next phase of the case.

The state said it started investigating Meta in 2023, gathering evidence and testimony from internal Meta documents, former employees, and law enforcement officials to show how the platform allowed sexual predators to exploit youth and exposed children to content that could lead to self-harm.

“The substantial damages the jury ordered Meta to pay should send a clear message to Big Tech executives that no company is beyond the reach of the law,” Torrez noted. “Policymakers and law enforcement officials across the country can help make this verdict a turning point in the fight for children’s safety. This is a watershed moment for every parent concerned about what could happen to their kids when they go online.”

Meta has expressed disagreement with the ruling and promised to appeal.

“We work hard to keep people safe on our platforms and are clear about the challenges of identifying and removing bad actors or harmful content,” a Meta spokesperson told media outlets. “We will continue to defend ourselves vigorously, and we remain confident in our record of protecting teens online.”

The jury’s order is already sparking conversation about the dangers of addictive social media platforms and who should be held accountable.

Consultant and former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer told Fox News that the technology companies have a lot of work to do, but individuals should take action to protect themselves as well.

“I’m a big believer in individual personal responsibility first,” he said. “Yes these platforms have an important role to play,” he said, such as when artificial intelligence has encouraged teens to commit suicide. “There is something horrific here that has to be cleaned up, but it also begins with us as individuals and what we do online, how much time we spend online, how vulnerable we make ourselves to social media. There’s got to be individual resistance to falling into that trap but I also do want to see some corporate accountability.”

On Wednesday, a California jury in a separate case found Meta and Google responsible for harming minors through social media addiction, ordering the companies to pay $3 million to a 20-year-old woman who said her social media use as a minor contributed to severe mental health issues. The order, following the New Mexico case, marked the second jury this week to find social media companies directly responsible for endangering children – and more than 3,000 similar cases are pending in California alone, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Meta, which is expected to appeal, has expressed disagreement with the California verdict and said it is evaluating its legal options.

A lawyer for families suing social media companies, Joseph VanZandt, said Wednesday’s verdict is “bigger than one case.”

“For years, social media companies have profited from targeting children while concealing their addictive and dangerous design features,” he said, per NPR. “Today’s verdict is a referendum – from a jury, to an entire industry – that accountability has arrived.”