New Mexico judge orders Meta to pay $567m fine in landmark child safety ruling

A US judge in New Mexico has ordered Meta to pay an additional $567m (£421m) in fines for failing to warn the public about the dangers its platforms posed to children. The ruling, issued by US District Judge Bryan Biedscheid, labels the company a "public nuisance," a legal designation that likens the social media giant’s impact to air pollution from a factory. This latest penalty brings the total financial liability in the case to $942m, following an initial $375m penalty awarded in a previous phase of the litigation.

Judge Biedscheid explicitly compared Meta’s business model to a manufacturing plant, stating that while advertising and content are the products, the "psychological harm and sexual exploitation of children" constitute the pollution that must be abated. The order mandates that the funds be placed in a specific fund aimed at reducing future harms, with $420m allocated for clinical and behavioural health programs for affected children. Additional funds are designated for training teachers and health professionals on how to address social media-related harms.

The court order imposes stringent operational changes on Meta, which owns Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Threads. These measures include a ban on direct messaging between adults and minors under the age of 18, the elimination of "like" counts for users under 18, and the implementation of a mandatory usage limit of 90 hours per month across Instagram and Facebook. The judge also ordered the removal of push notifications for underage users during school hours and overnight, alongside a "1-strike policy" for adult users engaging in child sexual exploitation.

Meta has stated it disagrees with the ruling and intends to appeal. A company spokesman emphasised that Meta works hard to keep people safe on its platforms and remains confident in its record of protecting teens online. The company argued that its efforts to identify and remove bad actors and harmful content have been transparent, asserting that the claims against it misrepresent the facts. This stance mirrors Meta’s response to the earlier $375m verdict, which it also planned to challenge.

The New Mexico case stems from a 2023 lawsuit brought by state attorneys, who argued that Meta’s recommendation algorithms steered young users toward harmful content and contacts with sexual predators. The ruling marks the first time a social media company has been deemed a public nuisance in this context. Former Twitter European vice president Bruce Daisley described the fine as "a drop in the ocean" relative to Meta’s recent $61bn quarterly revenue, though he noted it signals a global shift toward tackling social media harms. Meanwhile, former UK safeguarding minister Jess Phillips suggested the US court challenges could embolden the UK to take tougher action against big tech without fearing damage to diplomatic ties.