A New Mexico state court has ordered Meta to pay $567 million and change how its platforms function for young users in the state after finding the company is to blame for harming children's mental health.
Judge Bryan Biedscheid in Santa Fe ruled on Thursday that the company had created a public nuisance in New Mexico, siding with the state's Attorney General Raul Torrez, a Democrat.
Torrez had accused the social media company of designing its products to addict young users and failing to protect children from sexual exploitation on its platforms.
Biedscheid ordered the company to impose a range of youth-safety measures, including monthly limits on teens' use of Facebook and Instagram, restrictions on notifications, tighter controls on adult contact with minors, safeguards for AI chatbots, and enhanced review of child sexual abuse reports, under a $567 million decree that will remain in place for five years.
The judge also ordered Meta to delete the accounts of users under the age of 13 along with all personal information collected from those accounts.
Teen accounts in New Mexico must also be set to private by default.
Meta's response
Meta said it will appeal the ruling and that it has been working to identify and remove harmful content from its platforms.
"We remain confident in our record of protecting teens online and will continue to defend ourselves against claims that misrepresent the facts," Meta said in a statement.
The ruling came in the second phase of New Mexico's lawsuit.
A jury in March had found Meta violated the state’s consumer protection law by misrepresenting the safety of Facebook and Instagram for young users. It ordered the company to pay $375 million in damages.
Biedscheid heard three weeks of testimony during the second trial over the lawsuit, which did not involve a jury. It focused solely on whether Meta's platforms created a "public nuisance" under New Mexico law.
The case is being closely watched as states, municipalities and school districts across the country pursue similar claims seeking to force changes at the industry level.
