A court in the US state of New Mexico has ordered Meta to pay an additional $567 million over allegations that its platforms failed to protect children from harmful content and online exploitation. Combined with an earlier $375 million penalty in the same case, the company’s total liability now stands at $942 million.
The lawsuit was filed by the State of New Mexico in 2023, alleging that Meta’s platforms exposed children to sexually explicit content, contact with online predators and other harmful material. During an earlier phase of the trial, the court found that Meta’s recommendation algorithms repeatedly directed young users towards harmful content, violating the state’s Unfair Practices Act.
In its latest judgment, the court ruled that Meta’s conduct amounted to a public nuisance, comparing the company’s platforms to a factory whose “pollution” is the psychological harm and sexual exploitation experienced by children. The judgment states that these harms extend beyond individual users, placing a wider burden on families, schools, hospitals and law enforcement.
The court also ordered Meta to introduce several child safety measures. These include preventing adults from messaging minors, ensuring accounts belonging to users under 18 are not recommended to adults, removing public like counts for minors, restricting push notifications during school hours and overnight, and introducing a 90-hour monthly usage limit across Instagram and Facebook for users under 18.
Meta has said it disagrees with the ruling and will appeal. The company maintains that it has invested heavily in child safety measures and argues that the judgment does not accurately reflect its efforts to detect and remove harmful content.
The judgment is the largest child safety penalty imposed on Meta to date. It is also believed to be the first time a social media company has been held to be a public nuisance by a US court. The ruling comes as Meta continues to face thousands of lawsuits across the United States over child safety and privacy, with another major trial involving dozens of states scheduled to begin in California next week.
