A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $567 million into a fund meant to address harm to young people and imposed new limits on Facebook and Instagram accounts used by minors. The Meta $567 million New Mexico order, issued late Thursday by Santa Fe state District Judge Bryan Biedscheid, is separate from $375 million in civil penalties a jury imposed in March. Together, the rulings put Meta's reported exposure in this case at $942 million, though Meta says it will appeal.
Biedscheid found that Meta's platforms substantially contributed to a public nuisance in New Mexico and were a significant contributing factor in the state's youth mental-health crisis, according to the ruling reported by PBS NewsHour and The Washington Post. The judge compared the effects on children to pollution that spreads beyond a factory, describing burdens on affected children, their families, schools, hospitals and law enforcement.
The case began with a 2023 lawsuit by New Mexico. The state alleged Meta endangered children using its platforms and exposed them to sexually explicit material and sexual predators. In March, a jury found Meta had violated the state's Unfair Practices Act, according to BBC reporting. That phase produced the $375 million civil-penalty award; the new order concerns abatement, meaning measures intended to reduce and address the harms the court found.
What will Meta's $567 million New Mexico fund pay for?
Of the new $567 million, $420 million is designated for treatment services and behavioral-health programs for young people harmed by social media, PBS NewsHour reported. The remaining money is slated for awareness and prevention, screening services and related costs over five years.
The distinction matters. The $567 million is not the same thing as the jury's earlier civil penalties. It is funding the court ordered for remediation, while the $375 million was a separate penalty assessed in the first phase of the case.
What changes did the judge order for young users?
The order requires product changes for New Mexico accounts belonging to people under 18. Reported requirements include:
- No push notifications from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., plus a weekday school-year restriction from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- A combined Facebook and Instagram limit of 90 cumulative hours a month.
- No recommendations of under-18 accounts to adults, and no adult messaging of underage users.
- A prohibition on underage users sending or receiving nudity, along with a one-strike policy for adults engaged in child sexual exploitation.
- Removal of like counts for users under 18.
Facebook and Instagram must also regularly show information screens about protection features and safety tools. The court said those changes and a New Mexico education campaign would be subject to state review, PBS NewsHour reported.
Age verification remains a problem the order cannot hand-wave away. The court said the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act barred it from requiring certain data collection or passive tracking of under-13 users for age verification. Instead, it directed Meta to improve its age-assurance tools, work on an under-13 prediction model within two years, seek proof of age in specified cases and report compliance twice a year.
Meta communications chief Andy Stone said the company disagrees with the ruling and plans to appeal. Meta said it works to protect people on its platforms and will defend against claims it says misrepresent the facts. The available reports do not establish when payment or the required changes would take effect while that appeal proceeds.
This story draws on original reporting from The Record.
