Meta has been ordered to pay $567 million into a fund dedicated to addressing youth mental health issues in New Mexico after a state court concluded that the company’s social media platforms contributed to harm suffered by children and teenagers.
The decision, handed down by Judge Bryan Biedscheid in Santa Fe, found that the tech giant created a public nuisance within the state. The ruling marks a major victory for New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez, who argued that Facebook and Instagram were deliberately designed in ways that encouraged excessive use among young people while failing to adequately shield them from exploitation.
Beyond the financial penalty, the court imposed sweeping restrictions that will reshape how Meta’s services operate for minors in New Mexico over the next five years.
Under the order, the company must introduce monthly limits on teenage use of Facebook and Instagram, curb notifications directed at young users, strengthen barriers between adults and minors, tighten safeguards surrounding artificial-intelligence chatbots, and enhance the review process for reports involving child sexual abuse.
Meta has indicated that it will challenge the decision.
In a statement, the company said it disagrees with the court’s findings and intends to continue defending its approach to online safety. Meta maintained that it has invested heavily in tools designed to protect teenagers and remove harmful content from its platforms.
The ruling follows an earlier phase of the lawsuit in March, when a jury determined that Meta had violated New Mexico’s consumer protection laws by misleading users about the safety of its platforms for children and teenagers. That verdict resulted in damages of $375 million.
The latest proceedings unfolded over three weeks of testimony in a bench trial focused exclusively on whether Meta’s products constituted a public nuisance under state law.
Legal observers across the country are paying close attention to the case, as a growing number of states, cities and school districts pursue similar lawsuits against major social media companies. Those cases seek not only financial compensation but also broad industry-wide changes to the way digital platforms interact with younger users.
The New Mexico decision is expected to intensify the national debate over social media’s impact on adolescent mental health and could influence how courts address similar claims in the years ahead.
