New Mexico judge orders Meta to pay $567M for child mental health harms
A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $567 million into a youth mental health fund, on top of $375 million in March jury damages, after finding the company created a public nuisance by designing platforms that addict young users and fail to protect them from sexual exploitation.
Court ruling
On Thursday, August 6, Judge Bryan Biedscheid of the New Mexico First Judicial District Court in Santa Fe ordered Meta Platforms to pay $567 million into a state fund to address mental health harms to children from its platforms. The ruling found that Meta had created a "public nuisance" in New Mexico, siding with state Attorney General Raúl Torrez, a Democrat, who accused the company of designing Instagram and Facebook to addict young users and failing to protect children from sexual exploitation. The $567 million decree will remain in place for five years.
Judge Biedscheid compared Meta to a factory, describing advertising and content as its product.
the psychological harm and sexual exploitation of children to be the pollution that must be abated
The bulk of the fund, $420 million, will go toward treatment services for young people, with the remainder allocated to awareness and prevention, screening services, and other costs over the next five years.
Prior jury verdict
The ruling came in the second phase of New Mexico's lawsuit against Meta. In March, a state jury found that Meta had violated New Mexico's consumer protection law by misrepresenting the safety of Facebook and Instagram for young users, and ordered the company to pay $375 million in damages. That trial was the first to find Meta liable for harms committed on its platform, and followed a Guardian investigation revealing how Facebook and Instagram had become marketplaces for child sex trafficking. The second phase, a bench trial without a jury, focused solely on whether Meta's platforms constituted a "public nuisance" under New Mexico law. Judge Biedscheid heard three weeks of testimony before issuing his ruling.
- Jury found Meta violated New Mexico consumer protection law, ordered $375M in damages
- European Commission issued preliminary finding against Meta for failing to prevent minors under 13 from using its platforms
- Judge Biedscheid ordered $567M corrective fund and youth-safety measures
Required safety measures
The judge ordered Meta to implement 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. Meta must also set default privacy settings that hide like counts on photos of underage users, and build banner and informational screens explaining its protection features and tools to address inappropriate comments. An educational campaign in New Mexico will be subject to state review. The Wall Street Journal reported the total amount Meta has been ordered to pay across both phases at $942 million.
- March jury damages
- 375 $ million
- August corrective fund
- 567 $ million
- Total per WSJ
- 942 $ million
Meta's response and wider context
Meta said it will appeal the ruling. In a statement, the company said it works hard to keep people safe on its platforms and has been transparent about the challenges of identifying and removing 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 case is being closely watched as states, municipalities, and school districts across the United States pursue similar claims seeking to force changes at the industry level. In April, the European Commission issued a preliminary finding against Meta for allegedly failing to prevent minors under 13 from using Instagram and Facebook, saying the company had failed to diligently identify, assess, and mitigate risks of underage access. A Meta spokesperson said the company disagreed with those preliminary findings, noting that Instagram and Facebook are intended for users aged 13 and older.
