“The bar has moved, and every platform still choosing engagement over safety should take notice. Change cannot wait another day,” the Duke of Sussex said
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NEED TO KNOW
- Prince Harry says Meta’s latest court defeat shows “what accountability looks like” after a New Mexico judge ordered the company to pay an additional $567 million
- The Duke of Sussex said that platforms prioritizing engagement over children’s safety should “take notice” and that “change cannot wait another day”
- The latest ruling brings Meta’s total penalties in the case to $942 million and requires the company to implement additional child safety measures
Prince Harry is speaking out after a New Mexico court ordered Meta to pay an additional $567 million in fines over claims the company failed to adequately protect children on its social media platforms.
The Duke of Sussex said the latest ruling marks a turning point in holding technology companies accountable for the impact their platforms have on young users in a statement shared with PEOPLE.
“For years we’ve argued that big tech’s harm to children was a choice, not some inevitable side effect. This is not an accident. It is not a glitch,” Harry, 41, said.
“What we’ve seen in the last 24 hours is what accountability looks like. This is what happens when the law finally catches up to decisions made in boardrooms, product meetings, and algorithm reviews — decisions that put social media engagement ahead of safety,” he continued.
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“The bar has moved, and every platform still choosing engagement over safety should take notice. Change cannot wait another day,” he said.
The comments come one day after a New Mexico court ordered Meta to pay an additional $567 million, bringing the company’s total penalties in the case to $942 million after it was previously fined $375 million during the first phase of the proceedings in March, according to the ABC News.
New Mexico’s district attorney accused Meta of knowingly allowing its platforms to harm young users and enable child sexual exploitation.
In his ruling, Judge Bryan Biedscheid characterized Meta as a “public nuisance” and said the company should be treated like pollution “that must be abated,” the BBC reported.
In addition to the financial penalties, the court ordered Meta to implement new child safety measures and establish a fund intended to reduce future harms and help address the “wide-ranging impacts of the harm,” according to the outlet.
The BBC reported that about $420 million of the fines will fund “appropriate clinical or other behavioral health programs and professionals” to help treat harm already caused by the platforms.
The court also ordered new safety requirements, including monthly limits on teen use of Instagram and Facebook, restrictions on notifications and measures preventing adults from contacting users under 18 whom they do not know, according to The Times. Meta must also report on its progress implementing the changes twice each year.
In a statement shared with PEOPLE, a Meta spokesperson said, “We disagree with the ruling and will appeal. We work hard to keep people safe on our platforms and have been transparent about the challenges of identifying and removing bad actors and harmful content.”
“We remain confident in our record of protecting teens online and will continue to defend ourselves against claims that misrepresent the facts,” the spokesperson added.
Meta’s legal challenges extend beyond the New Mexico case. The company is also preparing for a federal trial later this month in Oakland, Calif., where it will face the first four of 29 states that sued the company in 2023, alleging it knowingly designed addictive features on Instagram and Facebook that contributed to the youth mental health crisis, according to the Associated Press.
The outlet reported that eight states also filed separate lawsuits in their own courts, including Tennessee, where a trial is currently underway.
The latest ruling comes just months after a Los Angeles jury found Meta and YouTube liable for negligence in a landmark social media addiction case. As part of the March verdict, the companies were ordered to pay $3 million in compensatory damages, with Meta responsible for 70% of the total amount. Jurors also found that Meta and Google should pay punitive damages tied to findings of malice or fraud.
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At the time, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex called the decision a “reckoning” for tech companies and a turning point for families.
“This verdict is a reckoning,” the couple said in a statement to PEOPLE. “For too long, families have paid the price for platforms built with total disregard for the children they reach. We stand with every parent and young person who refused to be silenced. Today, the truth has been heard and precedent has been set.”
Harry and Meghan Markle have long made online safety a central focus of their work through Archewell Philanthropies, advocating for stronger protections for children and teens using social media.
One of the foundation’s key initiatives, the Parents’ Network, supports families whose children have been harmed by online platforms and connects them with others who have experienced similar losses.
Credit: Eric Charbonneau/Archewell Foundation via Getty
Earlier this year, Harry met with families pursuing legal action against social media platforms. In a video shared by the BBC at the time, he thanked the families for continuing to share their experiences.
“Thank you for doing everything that you’ve done. Thank you for telling your stories over and over again. Truth, justice and accountability — those are the three things that will come from this,” he said.
The couple has also highlighted the issue through public campaigns, including last year’s Lost Screen Memorial in New York City. Created in partnership with families from Archewell’s Parents’ Network, the installation featured 50 smartphones displaying photos of children whose lives were lost due to the harmful effects of social media.
“These are families that we have been working with for several years,” Meghan said at the event, which PEOPLE attended. “No matter how polarized the world is, or what people may or may not agree on, one thing that we can all agree on is that our children should be safe. All of our children should be safe, and I think tonight, all of these stories solidify that.”
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