A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $567 million into a fund to repair harm to the state's children, marking the largest single ruling yet in a growing legal campaign over social media's impact on youth mental health. The August 6 order by First Judicial District Chief Judge Bryan Biedscheid closes the second phase of a public nuisance case and requires Meta to improve age assurance tools using AI, develop an under-13 age-prediction model within two years, and create a school reporting portal for suspected underage accounts. Combined with a prior $375 million civil penalty from a March jury verdict, Meta's financial exposure in New Mexico alone approaches $942 million, while the state's attorney general has indicated an intent to seek up to $62.85 billion in penalties. The ruling follows a California bellwether verdict in March that found Meta and YouTube negligent for designing addictive apps that harmed children, and comes as Meta faces over 40 state attorneys general and more than 1,300 school districts in pending suits, with combined claims exceeding $1 trillion in a federal multidistrict case.
Meta Platforms Inc.Court orders Meta to pay $567M into child safety fund and implement age-assurance measures, with potential for billions more in penalties.
