Nearly $1 billion blow to Meta.
A New Mexico judge just ordered the company to pay another $567 million into a youth mental health fund, on top of the $375 million jury award from March. Total liability in the case now sits at roughly $942 million.
Judge Bryan Biedscheid ruled that Facebook and Instagram created a public nuisance in the state and are a “significant contributing cause” of New Mexico’s youth mental health crisis. He compared Meta to a polluting factory, saying the psychological harm and sexual exploitation of kids is the pollution that has to be cleaned up.
The new $567 million goes into a five-year abatement fund:
- $420 million for treatment services
- $90 million for screening and assessment
- $33 million for awareness and prevention
- $15 million for referrals and care coordination
- $9 million for implementation and evaluation
Meta also has to roll out major platform changes in New Mexico for the next five years, including:
- Monthly usage caps for teens (around 90 hours across Facebook and Instagram)
- Push notifications turned off during school hours and overnight
- Private-by-default accounts for users under 18
- No recommending teen accounts to adults
- Adults blocked from messaging unconnected minors
- Safeguards stopping romantic or sexualized interactions with AI chatbots involving minors
- Stronger age-assurance tools and deletion of under-13 accounts that can’t verify
- Enhanced review of child sexual abuse material reports
New Mexico AG Raúl Torrez called it a victory for parents and a blueprint other states can follow. Meta said it disagrees with the ruling, stands by its teen safety record, and plans to appeal.
