Meta faces another blow in the United StatesA New Mexico judge has ordered the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp to allocate $567 million for corrective measures after a jury found the group responsible for failing to adequately protect younger users from the risks of their platforms and of having provided misleading information about their security.
The decision adds to the $375 million in civil penalties already imposed in March. Meta's overall fine thus rises to $942 million in 2026 alone, over 800 million euros. The company has already announced an appeal.
The judge accuses Meta of creating a "public nuisance"
The proceeding stems from a lawsuit filed in 2023 by New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez. According to the prosecution, Meta allegedly exposed children and adolescents to a range of dangers, including unwanted contact with adults, sexual predators, and explicit content, while downplaying known internal risks. In March, the jury found that the group had violated the Unfair Practices Act, the state's anti-unfair business practices law, by misleading consumers about the safety of its services for minors.
In the new decision, Judge Bryan Biedscheid described the contested conduct as a “public nuisance", going so far as to compare its effects to those caused by air pollution. According to the prosecution's arguments during the trial, Meta's recommendation systems helped steer adults toward content published by teenagers, while the company hid or downplayed internal evidence of the risks for younger users.
“This lawsuit has always been about protecting children, defending families, and ensuring that one of the largest technology companies in the world cannot profit from practices that endanger young people without facing consequences,” Torrez said.
Social media time limits and hidden "likes" for under-18s
The ruling is not limited to the economic aspect, but It also imposes a series of interventions on Meta on its platforms in New Mexico. For minors, they must be more limitations introduced on the use of Facebook and Instagram, including restrictions on push notifications and a cap of 90 hours per month, equivalent to about three hours per day.
Meta will also have to hide by default the number of "likes" received on content posted by those under 18 and strengthen controls designed to prevent access to the platforms by minors under 13. The court also targeted some of the most popular social media features, from infinite scrolling to autoplay, notifications, and algorithmic recommendation systems. According to the judge, these mechanisms can be particularly attractive to adolescents and encourage prolonged use of the platforms.
The company will also have to make information materials available on the risks associated with social media and submit to the court half-yearly reports on the progress made in implementing the measures ordered.
A €567 million fund for mental health and prevention
Most of theamount ordered by the court will be directly intended for youth programs. About three-quarters of the $567 million will flow into a fund for mental health services and treatments, with resources distributed over five years. The remaining portion will be used to fund awareness-raising and prevention initiatives, assessment and diagnosis activities, orientation and service coordination programs, and monitoring of implemented initiatives.
“Today’s decision is a victory for every parent who has been concerned about what social media is doing to their child, and for every child who deserves to grow up in a safer online environment,” Torrez said.
Meta announces appeal. New trials are on the way.
Meta rejected the court's findings and has already announced that it will appeal the decision: "We disagree with the decision and will appeal," the company said, claiming that it "works hard to ensure people's safety" and is "transparent about the difficulties in identifying and removing bad actors and harmful content."
The group claims to have invested significantly in tools dedicated to the protection of adolescents and disputes the reconstruction presented by the New Mexico authorities. The affair, however, could only represent a one of the open judicial fronts for the tech giant. Meta is involved in numerous lawsuits in the United States regarding the effects of social media on young people and will face a new trial in California in the coming days.
