A New Mexico court has ordered Meta the Facebook’s parent company to pay $567 million to address the negative mental health impacts its platforms have on children. This brings Meta's total penalty in this landmark case to $942 million, following a $375 million fine imposed in March for knowingly harming minors and failing to prevent child sexual exploitation.
Judge Bryan Biedscheid allocated $420 million directly to youth treatment services in New Mexico the remaining funds dedicated to awareness and prevention programs over the next five years.
The ruling mandates sweeping operational changes for the social media giant. Meta must implement educational warning screens with enhance AI-driven age verification tools and develop a dedicated prediction model to identify users under 13. Also the company is required to delete personal data collected from underage users and establish a reporting portal for schools to flag suspected under-13 accounts.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez welcomed the decision and calling it a victory for parents and a vital step in holding tech giants accountable for profit-driven practices that endanger youth.
Meta plans to appeal the verdict. A spokesperson stated the company disagrees with the ruling with maintaining that they work diligently to protect teenagers and continuously remove harmful content.
While the $942 million penalty is a fraction of Meta’s estimated $60 billion profit in 2025, the ruling sets a significant legal precedent. The company currently faces a wave of similar lawsuits across the United States including ongoing cases in Tennessee and California also signaling a growing push to hold social media platforms legally liable for product designs that harm young users.
