New Mexico Court Orders Meta to Pay $567M for Youth Mental Health Harms

A New Mexico court has ordered Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, to pay $567 million to address harms caused by its platforms to young people's mental health. The ruling comes in the second phase of a landmark trial that Meta lost earlier this year.

The bulk of the money, $420 million, will be used for treatment services for affected youth over the next five years. The remaining funds will support awareness and prevention programs, screening services, and other costs. According to CNBC, Judge Bryan Biedscheid noted that Meta's social media platforms are a significant contributing factor to the mental health crisis among New Mexico's youth.

The court also ordered Meta to implement several safety measures on its platforms, including building banner and informational screens to explain protection features. The company must improve age assurance tools using artificial intelligence and attempt to develop a dedicated prediction model for users under 13 years of age within two years. Additionally, Meta will partner with schools or child safety organizations to create reporting portals where school staff can flag suspected accounts of underage users.

Meta has stated it disagrees with the ruling and plans to appeal. In a statement issued by a Meta spokesperson, the company expressed confidence in its record of protecting teens online and vowed to defend itself against claims that misrepresent the facts. The case is being closely watched as states across the country pursue similar claims seeking industry-level changes.

According to NPR, this ruling adds to a $375 million civil penalty previously ordered by jurors in March after they determined Meta knowingly harmed children's mental health and concealed information about child sexual exploitation on its platforms. The total amount Meta is responsible for, $942 million, represents a small fraction of the company's annual profit.

The court further mandated that Meta restrict use of Facebook and Instagram by minors to 90 hours a month, turn off most push notifications for minors during school hours and overnight, and hide 'like' counts by default for minors. Additionally, Meta must run a New Mexico public-education campaign.

According to Al Jazeera, prosecutors had asked the judge to impose fundamental changes at Meta aimed at reining in addictive features and improving age verification. The decision could alter how Meta's platforms look and function, with required banner screens explaining protection features and best practices for addressing inappropriate comments.

UPI reported that New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez emphasized the case was about protecting children from sexual abuse, online solicitation, and human trafficking. The lawsuit followed a months-long operation involving decoy accounts of children 14 years and younger, which found that children were being served sexually explicit images and content while enabling adults to find, contact, and pressure them into providing sexually explicit or pornographic materials.

According to Ars Technica, the judge ruled that Meta's social media services created a 'public nuisance' requiring the $567 million fund for youth mental health care. The ruling follows a jury trial in March 2026, which found that Meta's platforms do not effectively protect kids from child exploitation and ordered civil damages for violating state consumer protections.