Social media giant Meta faces a major financial and regulatory reckoning over how its platforms affect young users. A state judge in New Mexico has ordered the company to pay $567 million into a special fund to address the severe mental health damage caused to children by Facebook and Instagram.
The new penalty builds on a $375 million fine imposed by a jury in March, bringing Meta's total financial responsibility in the state lawsuit to $942 million. In a dramatic decision, Judge Bryan Biedscheid declared Meta a "public nuisance." He compared the company's recommendation algorithms and content to a factory producing harmful pollution that spreads beyond screen time into real-world schools, hospitals, and families.
The bulk of the financial judgment—$420 million over the next five years—will directly fund clinical treatment and mental health programs for affected young people across New Mexico. The remaining money will support public awareness campaigns, prevention programs, and specialized training for teachers and healthcare professionals to help children cope with social media harm.
Beyond the financial penalty, the court ordered sweeping changes to how Meta operates its platforms for young users in the state. Meta must block adults from messaging minors and ensure adult accounts are never recommended to teenagers. The judge also mandated removing public "like" counts for users under 18, disabling push notifications late at night and during school hours, and enforcing a strict monthly usage limit of 90 hours across Facebook and Instagram.
To protect younger children, Meta must improve its artificial intelligence tools to estimate user ages, request official proof of age when necessary, and delete personal data collected from children under 13. The court also ordered a strict "one-strike policy" to immediately ban adult users who engage in child sexual exploitation.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez hailed the judgment as a vital victory for parents demanding greater corporate accountability. In response, a Meta spokesperson stated that the company disagrees with the ruling and intends to appeal, maintaining that Meta works hard to protect teenagers online. The ruling marks the largest legal penalty against Meta over child safety to date, as the company continues to face thousands of similar lawsuits in courts across the United States.