Meta ordered to pay $567 million over harm to children

A judge in the US state of New Mexico has ordered Meta on Thursday to pay $567 million (€492 million) and overhaul how Facebook and Instagram operate for young users in the state.

Judge Bryan Biedscheid's ruling, issued in Santa Fe, states the company created a "public nuisance" that harmed children's mental health. It also comes on top of $375 million in damages a jury ordered against Meta in March, bringing the company's total New Mexico liability to $942 million. That March verdict found Meta violated the state's consumer protection law by misleading the public about the safety of its platforms for children.

State Attorney General Raul Torrez sued Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, in 2023. On Thursday, he said the ruling holds the company accountable for design choices that put children at risk.

"Today's decision is a victory for every parent who has worried about what social media is doing to their child and every child who deserves to grow up safer online," he said.

Roughly three-quarters of the $567 million, to be paid out over five years, will fund mental health treatment for young people. The rest will go toward prevention programs, screening, and related services.

The judge also ordered Meta to make direct changes to Facebook and Instagram, including monthly limits on teen usage, tighter notification controls, stronger safeguards on adult contact with minors, oversight of AI chatbots, and improved handling of child sexual abuse reports.

The company must also work with schools to build a reporting system for flagging underage users, and must also delete data it holds on children under 13. Federal privacy law bars Meta from collecting personal data to verify children's ages, so the court instead ordered the company to keep improving its AI-based age-estimation tools.