Key Takeaways
- New Mexico orders Meta to pay $567 million for youth mental health programs.
- Court mandates stronger child safety measures across Facebook and Instagram.
- Meta plans to appeal as legal challenges continue nationwide.
A New Mexico judge has ordered Meta Platforms Inc. to pay $567 million to fund youth mental health treatment, prevention and safety measures after finding the company harmed children through Facebook and Instagram. The ruling, issued Thursday in the Meta court case, follows an earlier Meta child addiction lawsuit and adds to a previous $375 million civil penalty, requiring Meta to strengthen child safety protections while the company prepares an appeal.
Court directs funding for youth safety programs
Judge Bryan Biedscheid ruled that $420 million of the $567 million will fund treatment services for young people. The remaining money will support awareness campaigns, prevention efforts, screening services and other related programs over the next five years.
The order follows a March jury verdict that imposed $375 million in civil penalties after jurors found Meta knowingly harmed children’s mental health and concealed information about child sexual exploitation on its platforms. Combined, the company now faces nearly $942 million in penalties and required spending.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez said the decision sends a clear message to technology companies.
“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,” Torrez said in a statement.
Meta said it will appeal the ruling.
“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,” the company said. “We remain confident in our record of protecting teens online and will continue to defend ourselves against claims that misrepresent the facts.”
Judge orders new child protection measures
The court ordered Meta to introduce new banner messages and informational screens on Facebook and Instagram explaining safety features, reporting tools and methods for addressing inappropriate content. Those changes, along with an educational campaign in New Mexico, will be reviewed by the state.
The ruling stops short of requiring mandatory age verification for children under 13, citing restrictions under the federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. The court also said requiring only Meta to verify users’ ages would unfairly disadvantage the company compared with competing social media platforms.
Instead, the judge ordered Meta to continue improving its age assurance technology, including artificial intelligence systems that estimate users’ ages based on behavior and activity. The company must also develop an under-13 age prediction model within two years.
Meta must request proof of age from New Mexico users it estimates are younger than 13. If a user’s age cannot be confirmed, the company must apply protections designed for minors until verification is completed.
The court also directed Meta to work with schools or child safety organizations to establish a reporting portal for suspected underage users, delete personal information collected from users under 13, and submit compliance reports twice each year.
More legal challenges await Meta
The New Mexico case adds to growing legal pressure facing the social media company amid the wider Meta court case.
Later this month, Meta is scheduled to face trial in federal court in Oakland, California, where multiple states allege the company knowingly designed addictive features that contributed to a youth mental health crisis. Several additional lawsuits remain pending in state courts.
Last month, Meta, TikTok, Snap and YouTube were also sued by families of four teenagers who died by suicide after what the lawsuits describe as years of harmful social media use.
Laura Edelson, an assistant professor at Northeastern University who studies social media and cybersecurity, said the New Mexico decision could influence future cases.
“America is not going to pass a law that bans social media,” Edelson said. “But if companies like Meta know they’re causing harm to users by product design, the states are finally finding a way to rein this in.”
Meta reported about $60 billion in annual profit during 2025. Following the ruling, the company’s shares fell less than one-half of one percent in after-hours trading.
