Social media giant Meta must pay $567 million to a remedial youth mental health fund following a court ruling in New Mexico on Thursday.
State District Judge Bryan Biedscheid ordered the parent company of Facebook and Instagram to tighten controls on children's accounts and compared its platforms to factories emitting harmful pollution into the real world.
Under the ruling, Meta must delete all accounts and personal data collected from users under the age of 13 in New Mexico. The company must also set accounts belonging to teenagers in the state to private by default.
The order requires Meta to disable push notifications for users under 18 between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. on school days and between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. on other days. In addition, Meta must block New Mexico users from having romantic or sexualized interactions with its artificial intelligence chatbots.
Public Nuisance Findings
The ruling concluded the second phase of a bench trial focused on whether Meta's platforms constituted a public nuisance. In the first phase in March, a jury found Meta guilty of all charges in a child safety trial, including engaging intentionally in unfair, deceptive, and abusive business practices.
The March jury decision ordered Meta to pay $375 million in damages to address concerns raised by parents, whistleblowers, and lawmakers. Meta respectfully disagreed with that verdict at the time and announced plans to appeal.
Judge Biedscheid wrote in his decision that just as harmful emissions from a factory damage the public right to clean air, the harmful effects of Meta on children extend beyond its platforms into the internet and the physical world. He noted that these harms create a shared burden for families, schools, hospitals, and law enforcement.
Algorithm Order Limits
The court stopped short of ordering changes to how Meta recommends content. Judge Biedscheid wrote that a request to alter Meta's algorithm would likely violate the First Amendment and Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a federal law that shields online platforms from liability for content posted by users.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez originally sued Meta in 2023. Torrez alleged that Meta created a breeding ground for child predators on Facebook and Instagram, an allegation the company denied.
Meta stated on Thursday that it disagreed with the decision and intended to appeal. The company said it worked hard to keep users safe on its platforms and maintained transparency regarding the challenges of removing malicious users and harmful content. Meta added that it remained confident in its track record of protecting teenagers online and would continue defending against claims that distorted facts.
Nationwide Legal Pressure
Meta faces growing legal scrutiny alongside other social media networks, as school districts and state attorneys general across the United States file lawsuits over child safety, privacy, and youth mental health.
In May, Meta, YouTube, Snap, and TikTok agreed to an out-of-court settlement in a lawsuit filed by a Kentucky school district over addiction claims. That case was set to be the first of hundreds of similar claims against social media companies to go to trial, though the financial terms were not disclosed.
