A New Mexico judge has dealt Meta a major legal blow, ordering the company to pay $567 million into a fund aimed at addressing a youth mental health crisis tied to its platforms. The ruling marks the second major penalty in the case, following a jury verdict in March that already awarded $375 million in damages.
Sweeping Changes to Teen Accounts Required
Beyond the financial penalty, the court order requires substantial operational changes. Meta must delete accounts and personal data belonging to users under 13, make teen accounts private by default, and disable push notifications for users under 18 during school hours and late at night. The company has also been ordered to stop allowing romantic or sexualized exchanges between New Mexico users and its AI chatbots.
Judge Draws Pointed Comparison
In his ruling, Judge Bryan Biedscheid compared Meta’s platforms to a polluting factory, noting that the resulting harm doesn’t stay contained but spreads to the broader internet and, more troublingly, into the real world.
Meta has pushed back against the decision. The company said it disagrees with the ruling and intends to appeal, adding in a statement that it works hard to keep people safe on its platforms.
The case adds to mounting legal and regulatory pressure on social media companies over the psychological effects of their platforms on younger users, particularly around addictive design features, data collection practices, and AI-driven interactions. With appeals expected, the ruling could set an important precedent for how courts across the country weigh tech companies’ responsibility for the mental health of minors using their services.