Court says Meta must pay $806m for harming children's mental health

Lead

A New Mexico state court has ordered Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, to pay $567 million and change how its platforms operate for young users in the state, after finding the company responsible for harming children's mental health. The ruling, issued by Judge Bryan Biedscheid in Santa Fe on Thursday, follows a jury's earlier finding that Meta violated the state's consumer protection law.

Coverage Comparison

The ruling has been reported by ABC Australia and the Jerusalem Post. Both outlets emphasize that Judge Biedscheid sided with New Mexico's Attorney General Raúl Torrez, a Democrat, who accused Meta of designing its products to addict young users and failing to protect children from sexual exploitation on its platforms. The two reports also agree on the key details of the ruling, including the amount of the award and the nature of the required safety measures. Both note that Meta has said it will appeal.

ABC Australia frames the decision as Meta being "ordered to pay $US567 million ($806 million) to address harms to young people from its platforms," characterizing the ruling as a landmark second phase of a trial. The Jerusalem Post similarly describes the order as a response to Meta's "harming children's mental health," attributing the harm to the company's product design that "addict[s]" young users. Neither report suggests any disagreement between the sources over the fundamental facts of the case.

The reports note that the case is being closely watched as other states, municipalities, and school districts pursue similar claims against Meta and other technology companies.

Key Claims

Judge Bryan Biedscheid ruled that Meta created a public nuisance in New Mexico, siding with the state's Attorney General Raúl Torrez, a Democrat. Torrez had accused Meta of designing its products to addict young users and failing to protect children from sexual exploitation on its platforms.

The court ordered Meta to pay $567 million, with the bulk of the money to be used for treatment services for young people, as reported by ABC Australia. The judge also ordered a range of youth-safety measures, including monthly limits on teens' use of Facebook and Instagram, restrictions on notifications, tighter controls on adult contact with minors, safeguards for AI chatbots, and enhanced review of child sexual abuse reports. These measures are part of a decree that will remain in place for five years.

The ruling came in the second phase of New Mexico's lawsuit. In March, a jury found that Meta violated the state's consumer protection law by misrepresenting the safety of Facebook and Instagram for young users and ordered the company to pay $375 million in damages. Judge Biedscheid heard three weeks of testimony during the second trial, which did not involve a jury and focused solely on whether Meta's platforms created a "public nuisance" under New Mexico law.

Meta said it will appeal the ruling and that it has been working to identify and remove harmful content from its platforms. "We remain confident in our record of protecting teens online and will continue to defend ourselves against claims that misrepresent the facts," Meta said in a statement.