A New Mexico court has ordered Meta to pay a total of $942 million after finding that Facebook and Instagram contributed to harm suffered by children and teenagers, marking one of the largest penalties imposed on the social media giant over child safety concerns.
The latest ruling adds $567 million to the $375 million in civil penalties awarded by a jury in March, bringing the total financial penalty to $942 million.
Judge Bryan Biedscheid directed that $420 million of the newly awarded funds be allocated to youth treatment services, while the remaining amount will support awareness campaigns, prevention programmes, screening and other child protection initiatives over the next five years.
Court orders platform changes
Beyond the financial penalty, the court ordered Meta to introduce additional child safety measures on Facebook and Instagram in New Mexico.
The company must display regular educational banners explaining safety tools, privacy settings and ways users can report inappropriate content. It was also instructed to continue improving its AI-powered age assurance technology to better identify underage users.
The judge ordered Meta to develop an AI model capable of predicting users under the age of 13 within two years. The company must also request age verification from users in New Mexico whom its systems identify as potentially under 13.
If a user's age cannot be verified, Meta must apply protections designed for minors until verification is completed.
In addition, Meta must partner with schools or child safety organisations to create a reporting portal allowing educators to flag accounts believed to belong to children under 13. The company was also ordered to delete personal information collected from users identified as being under 13 and submit compliance reports to the court twice a year.
Meta to appeal
Meta said it intends to appeal the decision.
"We work hard to keep people safe on our platforms and have been transparent about the challenges of identifying and removing bad actors and harmful content," the company said in a statement.
The company added that it remained confident in its efforts to protect teenagers online and would continue defending itself against what it described as inaccurate claims.
Part of wider legal battle
The New Mexico ruling comes as Meta faces growing legal scrutiny across the United States over the impact of social media on children and teenagers.
Later this month, the company is scheduled to stand trial in California in the first phase of a multistate lawsuit brought by 29 US states, alleging that Facebook and Instagram were intentionally designed with addictive features that contributed to the youth mental health crisis.
Meta, along with TikTok, Snap and YouTube, also faces additional lawsuits filed by families who allege social media platforms contributed to the deaths of teenagers through prolonged exposure to harmful online content.
