Reported by Weng Patrick Atokor | Journalist at Weng Global
A court in the United States has ordered Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, to pay $567 million to address harms allegedly suffered by children and young people on its social media platforms.
The ruling was delivered by a New Mexico judge in the second phase of a landmark case brought by the state against the technology giant over allegations that its platforms exposed children to harmful content, facilitated child sexual exploitation and contributed to mental-health problems among young users.
The latest order brings Meta’s total financial liability in the New Mexico case to approximately $942 million, following a separate $375 million civil penalty imposed after a jury found the company liable in March 2026.
The court also imposed a series of measures aimed at strengthening child-safety protections on Facebook and Instagram.
Court describes Meta’s conduct as a public nuisance
Judge Bryan Biedscheid described Meta’s conduct as constituting a “public nuisance”, concluding that the company’s platforms had contributed significantly to problems affecting children’s health and safety.
The case was initiated by New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez, who accused Meta of misleading consumers about the safety of its platforms while failing to adequately protect children from harmful experiences.
In March, a jury found Meta liable under New Mexico’s consumer-protection laws and ordered the company to pay $375 million in civil penalties. The jury determined that Meta had misled consumers about the safety of its platforms and endangered children.
The second phase of the proceedings focused largely on the measures and funding needed to address the harm identified by the court.
Where the $567 million will go
Under the latest ruling, the largest portion of the $567 million award — approximately $420 million — will be directed towards treatment services for young people.
The remaining funds will support awareness campaigns, prevention programmes, screening services and other initiatives designed to address the effects of social media use among children and teenagers.
The programmes are expected to operate over a five-year period.
The ruling therefore goes beyond simply imposing a financial punishment on Meta. It establishes a framework intended to provide assistance to young people affected by the problems identified during the proceedings.
New restrictions ordered for Facebook and Instagram
The judge also ordered changes to the way Facebook and Instagram operate in New Mexico, particularly in relation to young users.
Among the measures are requirements for educational banners and information screens explaining safety features and providing guidance on protecting users from inappropriate interactions and other online risks.
Meta will also be required to improve its systems for identifying users who may be under the age of 13.
The court has encouraged the use of age-prediction technology to help identify children who may be accessing the platforms despite age restrictions. Under the order, data belonging to users identified as being under 13 is also subject to deletion requirements.
Other measures include restrictions intended to reduce excessive use among younger users and greater safeguards against unwanted contact between adults and minors.
Growing concerns over social media and children
The New Mexico case comes amid growing legal and political pressure on major technology companies over the impact of social media on children.
Critics have argued that features designed to maximise engagement can encourage prolonged use among young people, while recommendation systems can expose vulnerable users to harmful or inappropriate material.
The issue has increasingly moved from public debate into courtrooms across the United States, with states and families pursuing separate cases against technology companies.
In another major case earlier this year, a Los Angeles jury found Meta and Google liable in a youth social-media addiction lawsuit. The jury concluded that Meta had been negligent in the design or operation of Instagram and had failed to adequately warn users about potential dangers associated with the platform.
Massachusetts has also pursued legal action against Meta, alleging that Instagram was designed in ways that encouraged compulsive use among children and that the company misled the public about the platform’s safety. The state’s Supreme Judicial Court allowed key aspects of that case to proceed.
Meta plans to appeal
Meta has rejected the New Mexico court’s conclusions and plans to appeal the latest ruling.
The company has maintained that it takes child safety seriously and has continued investing in systems designed to detect and remove harmful content.
Meta said in July that it had removed more than 36 million pieces of content related to child exploitation globally during the previous year, while also automatically disabling millions of suspicious accounts on Facebook and Instagram. The company said it was expanding the use of artificial intelligence to identify and combat child exploitation.
However, the New Mexico case demonstrates that regulators and courts are increasingly examining not only whether platforms remove illegal content, but also whether their underlying design and business practices adequately protect children.
What the ruling means for Meta
The financial impact of the New Mexico ruling is significant, but the operational requirements could have an even wider effect.
Meta now faces pressure to demonstrate measurable improvements in age verification, child protection, parental and user education, privacy settings and safeguards against inappropriate interactions.
The company will also be required to report on its compliance with the court’s orders twice a year, providing New Mexico authorities with an opportunity to monitor whether the measures are being implemented.
For Meta, the ruling represents another challenge at a time when the company is facing multiple lawsuits concerning the effects of its platforms on young people.
For parents and child-safety advocates, meanwhile, the decision could strengthen calls for technology companies to take greater responsibility for the environments they create for minors.
A wider warning for social media companies
The New Mexico decision could have implications beyond Meta.
If similar cases succeed in other states, technology companies may face increasing demands to modify features that encourage prolonged engagement, improve age verification and introduce stronger protections for minors.
The ruling also highlights a growing shift in the legal debate surrounding social media. Instead of focusing solely on individual users and the content they post, authorities are increasingly examining the responsibilities of the companies that design and operate the platforms.
As social media continues to play a major role in the lives of young people, the question of how to balance innovation, user freedom and child protection is likely to remain a major legal and public-policy issue in the United States.
For Meta, the latest $567 million order is therefore more than another financial penalty. It is a judicial demand for changes to the way Facebook and Instagram protect younger users — and another sign that the technology industry’s approach to child safety is facing increasingly intense scrutiny.
Source: New Mexico Department of Justice; Associated Press; The Verge; Reuters; Meta.
