A New Mexico court has ordered Meta to pay $567 million over harms to young people linked to its platforms — in what is the largest fine against Instagram and Facebook’s parent company over child safety.
On Thursday, New Mexico District Court Judge Bryan Biedscheid ordered Meta to pay $567 million in the second phase of a landmark trial, on top of the $375 million fine imposed in March. The latest order brings the total amount the tech giant has been ordered to pay to $942 million.
The penalties follow a New Mexico jury’s finding that Meta was liable for failing to protect children from exploitation and harmful content on its platforms. The jury found that Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, failed to adequately safeguard young users from online risks including sexually explicit material, solicitation, and human trafficking.
Judge Biedscheid says $420 million of the latest penalty would be used to provide treatment services for young people in New Mexico. The remaining money will go toward awareness and prevention programs, screening services, and other costs over the next five years.
“Significant numbers of people in New Mexico experience harm from Meta’s products due to risks of sexual exploitation, interference with education, and adverse mental health outcomes,” the order says, according to a report by TechCrunch.
The court also ordered Meta to change how its platforms operate in New Mexico. The company must remove Like counts and may only show those metrics to users under 18 if they have approval from a parent or guardian. Push notifications to users under 18 in the state must also be paused between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. The order further requires usage by underage users to be limited to 90 hours per month, which amounts to roughly three hours per day.
Judge Biedscheid acknowledged that Meta is not the only platform contributing to a youth mental health crisis in New Mexico, but says its platforms play a significant role. He described how the company created a significant “public nuisance” in the state.
Meta has previously threatened to shut down Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp in New Mexico amid the child safety court battle. The company tells TechCrunch that it plans to appeal the judgment.
“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,” Meta spokesperson Andy Stone writes in a statement to the news outlet.
New Mexico’s case is the first to go to trial among more than 40 lawsuits filed by state attorneys general alleging that Meta’s platforms contribute to a mental health crisis among young people. Most of the other cases are being pursued in U.S. federal court.
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