Meta ordered to pay $942M in New Mexico child safety case

A New Mexico court on Thursday ordered Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta to pay $567 million after determining it contributed to the “teen mental health crisis” in the state. The ruling follows a state-led lawsuit that accused Meta of designing addictive algorithms and failing to protect children from harm on its platforms. The $567 million penalty is the second phase of the case, on top of $375 million Meta was already ordered to pay in January after a jury found it liable for harming young users.

The lawsuit stems from years of growing concern about how social media affects young people’s mental health. New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez filed the case in late 2021, arguing that Meta’s platforms—especially Instagram—expose teens to harmful content, cyberbullying, and addictive design features that fuel anxiety, depression, and self-harm. Similar lawsuits have been filed by dozens of states and school districts across the U.S., making this part of a broader legal reckoning over whether tech companies prioritized profit over safety. The state’s evidence included internal Meta documents showing company researchers knew about the harms but chose not to act.

The judge’s order sets the total damages at $942 million, one of the largest penalties ever imposed on a tech company over child safety. Meta has vowed to appeal, calling the decision “flawed and unprecedented.” The company has already spent millions lobbying against stricter regulations and promoting its own safety features, which critics say are too little, too late. New Mexico’s lawsuit also targeted TikTok and YouTube, but Meta faced the largest penalties due to evidence that its platforms have the most powerful engagement algorithms.

If upheld, the ruling could force Meta to overhaul how its apps are designed for teens, including limiting addictive feeds and sharing data with independent researchers. It also gives ammunition to other states and families suing over social media harms. But the appeal process could take years, and even if the penalty stands, Meta may just treat it as a cost of doing business. The bigger question—whether any legal penalty can truly make social media safer for kids—remains unanswered.