Meta Ordered to Pay $567M Over Child Safety Violations in New Mexico

Meta Platforms Inc. has been ordered to pay $567 million into a fund designed to address harm to young people, in a major legal ruling involving child safety on Facebook and Instagram.

Judge Bryan Biedscheid of New Mexico’s First Judicial District Court in Santa Fe issued the order following a March jury verdict that found Meta violated the state’s consumer protection law. Jurors concluded that the technology company had misrepresented the safety of its social media platforms for children.

The $567 million payment will be used to support behavioral health services, prevention programs and other initiatives intended to reduce the negative effects of social media on young users. The amount is separate from a $375 million civil penalty previously awarded by the jury, raising Meta’s total liability in the New Mexico case to approximately $942 million.

According to the Albuquerque Journal, which reviewed the court’s 67-page order, Meta must also introduce significant child safety changes for Facebook and Instagram users in New Mexico.

The required measures include restrictions on platform features intended to boost user engagement, stronger safeguards governing interactions between adults and minors, and additional protections aimed at limiting children’s exposure to potentially harmful content.

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez described the judgment as a landmark victory for children and families. Torrez said the case was focused on protecting young people and ensuring that major technology companies face consequences when business practices put minors at risk.

The Meta child safety lawsuit is attracting attention from regulators and lawmakers because it is among the first cases to combine substantial financial penalties with court-ordered changes to how a major social media company operates.

The decision could also have implications beyond New Mexico. Meta faces other lawsuits and regulatory scrutiny in the United States concerning the potential effects of Facebook and Instagram on children and teenagers.

As legal pressure surrounding social media safety continues to increase, the New Mexico judgment could become an important reference point for similar cases seeking stronger protections for minors and greater accountability from technology platforms.