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Court orders Meta to pay an additional $567 million in New Mexico child safety case
A court in New Mexico has ordered Meta to pay a further $567 million (£445 million) into a state abatement fund, on top of a $375 million civil penalty imposed in March, after a judge ruled the company's platforms constitute a "public nuisance" to teenagers. Judge Bryan Biedscheid compared Meta's apps to polluting factories, saying the psychological harm and sexual exploitation experienced by children on the platforms spread beyond them "to the internet as a whole and, perhaps most concerning, to the real world." Meta has said it disagrees with the ruling and intends to appeal.
The new funds will support youth internet safety training for teachers and health professionals, as well as community health centres, while the court has also ordered specific safety changes to Facebook and Instagram, though not WhatsApp. These include private-by-default accounts for under-18s, restrictions on adults messaging or being recommended to minors, hidden "like" counts, a 90-hour monthly usage cap across the two apps, notification blackouts overnight and during school hours, and daily safety information banners. The judge stopped short of ordering changes to Meta's algorithms. Meta had earlier warned it might withdraw its apps from New Mexico if the ruling went against it, a claim the state's attorney general dismissed as a PR stunt.
In short
- Meta must pay $567m more over New Mexico teen safety ruling
- Judge calls Meta's platforms a "public nuisance" harming children
- Court orders new privacy, messaging and usage-time limits for under-18s
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Meta's platforms have demonstrably harmed children through documented psychological damage and sexual exploitation, and the company's years of knowledge combined with inadequate voluntary responses justifies court intervention through public nuisance law. The financial penalties and specific safety measures—such as private-by-default accounts for minors and restrictions on adult contact—represent proportionate accountability that recognises child welfare as a legitimate public concern requiring systemic change to business practices built on exploiting vulnerability.
The case against
Extending public nuisance doctrine to social media platforms sets a troubling legal precedent that conflates tech platforms with environmental hazards and invites state-by-state regulatory fragmentation that could chill innovation and digital services. Whilst Meta should certainly strengthen child safety, heavily prescriptive judicial mandates about design features like usage caps and hidden counts lack compelling evidence these measures improve safety outcomes, and Meta's right to appeal a legally novel interpretation of nuisance law is entirely legitimate.
Explained simply
Meta is a technology company that owns Facebook and Instagram, social media apps where people share posts and messages. Its services are used by teenagers as well as adults, and concerns about children’s safety online have prompted legal action in several places.
New Mexico’s attorney general brought the case on behalf of the state, arguing that Meta’s platforms put young users at risk of psychological harm and sexual exploitation. The judge treated the effects as a public nuisance, a legal term for harm that affects the wider community, and directed money towards a state fund for prevention and support.
The dispute matters because the court has also ordered changes to how Facebook and Instagram work for young users. Meta says it disagrees with the ruling and plans to appeal, so the case may continue through the courts.