Meta has been ordered to pay $567 million into a New Mexico abatement fund after a judge found the company’s platforms contributed to the youth mental health crisis in the state, marking another major blow to Big Tech in a growing wave of child safety litigation.
The order, reported by CNBC, follows an earlier finding that Meta willfully violated New Mexico’s Unfair Practices Act. The company had already been hit with $375 million in civil penalties earlier this year. The new $567 million abatement fund brings the total price tag in the case to nearly $1 billion.
Judge Bryan Biedscheid wrote that Meta’s platforms were a “significant contributing factor” to the “current mental health crisis among New Mexico’s youth,” according to the report.
The fund is intended to address alleged harm tied to the use of Meta’s platforms by young people in New Mexico. Most of the money — $420 million — is designated for treatment. The rest is slated for awareness and prevention, screening, referrals, coordination, implementation, quality improvement, and evaluation.
The case has become one of the most consequential state-level fights against social media companies, which are increasingly facing lawsuits over claims that their products harm children, expose minors to predators, and worsen mental health problems.
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez sued Meta in 2023 after his office conducted an undercover investigation involving a fake profile for a 13-year-old girl. Torrez previously said the account was quickly flooded with sexualized content and solicitations from predators.
The ruling gives Torrez one of the biggest wins yet in his campaign against Meta, though the order appears to fall short of the sweeping product overhaul his office initially sought.
Before the second phase of the trial, Torrez had pushed for major changes to how Meta does business in New Mexico, including stronger age-verification technology, changes to recommendation systems, and other child safety modifications.
In a statement, Torrez said the judgment holds Meta accountable for harm to “our children, our families, and our schools” and forces “real changes” in New Mexico.
Meta disagreed sharply with the ruling and said it will appeal.
The company said it works to keep users safe and remains confident in its child safety record. Meta also accused critics of advancing “claims that misrepresent the facts.”
The order does require Meta to continue improving age assurance models and tools in New Mexico, including the use of artificial intelligence. The company must also attempt to create a model within two years that can better identify users under age 13.
Other required steps include making it easier to report underage users and partnering with schools or a child safety organization to create a portal where administrators can flag suspected accounts belonging to children under 13.
But the judge did not force Meta to change its algorithms, a major limitation in the ruling. Biedscheid found that mandating algorithm changes could run into Section 230 and First Amendment concerns.
The court also did not require Meta to end support for end-to-end encryption on Facebook. The judge further found that WhatsApp was not part of the public nuisance being addressed, noting that predators and harmful content are not recommended to adolescents on that platform in the same way.
That split result is important.
On one hand, New Mexico secured a massive monetary remedy and new child-safety requirements against one of the world’s most powerful technology companies. On the other hand, Meta avoided some of the most aggressive remedies that could have reshaped the company’s core products in the state.
The ruling comes as social media companies face what some legal experts have described as a “Big Tobacco” moment. Just as tobacco companies were once forced to confront claims that they misled the public about health risks, tech giants are now being challenged over whether they designed addictive products while downplaying risks to children.
For New Mexico, the case also highlights a grim reality: the state’s youth mental health system is already strained. The judge cited testimony from professionals in fields including health care and noted that New Mexico lacks enough programs and services to meet the needs of troubled youth allegedly harmed by social media.
Meta disclosed in a financial filing that the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office had indicated it could seek up to $62.85 billion in penalties in the case, meaning the legal battle may not be over.
The company’s appeal will likely test how far states can go in using public nuisance and consumer protection laws against social media platforms. It will also raise broader questions about free speech, platform liability, parental responsibility, child exploitation, and whether courts can force tech companies to redesign products used by millions of people.
For now, New Mexico has landed a major judgment against Meta.
But the biggest fight — whether Big Tech can be forced to fundamentally change how it interacts with children — is still far from over.
its a shake down. how much of the money will end in bureaucrats pockets ? like all NM govt spending , the public will see little improvement. NM state govt has grown like a cancerous tumor, with the same result that cancer has on the human body.
On the one hand the state murders babies in the womb,, shoves kids across the Mexican border & does much harm while they are in the system but says Meta is to blame for mental illness? Mental illness is running this state.
100% true
if anyone should be sued its MLG and CYFD for the horrendous abuse they have put on NM children.
Yes sir. This “fund” will disappear just like the $350 million in FEMA monies for the Calf Canyon & Hermits Peak fires.
“Administrative fees”
Where in the hell were the parents????? Bad parents are just as much to blame IMHO. But on another note F suckerburg
All for the children? What about the thousands of infants killed in abortion? All the gender deforming surgeries paid for by the state and insurance companies? All the the child exploitation via open borders under the last presidential administration? Let’s see where the money goes, into total obfuscation?
Once again, where was the first line of defense, the parents of these children. Will the state ever pursue bad parenting which results in many mental health issues. I will bet not as they usually don’t have enough money to make it worth suing because the democrats have run this state into the ground fiscally. (Unless of course you are a democrat leader directing millions of dollars towards companies they have ties too)
I agree there should be guardrails in technology, however, we all need to ask ourselves where parental responsibility fits into this. Endless scrolling? Where is mom and dad. Checking what is on the phone, computer, etc. is a parental responsibility. Our children do not have a right to privacy on the technology they use no more than they have a right to hide things in their homes.
Yes, this is a complete shake down. The irony never fails to land on NM’s foul, corrupt, hypocritical politicians. We all know, as usual, these funds will be solely slated for their greedy pockets. Meanwhile, these same demons celebrate, promote & profit from the murder of unborn children and simply watch year after year CYFD spiral to unimaginable depths.
That’s the truth.
Agree with all above, let me add ,this sends a message that there is no need for personal responsibilty, accountability or restraint…all tenets of a civil society…its always the fault of something else or someone else.
What’s so sad about this state and everything that politicians and other elected officials associated with the state is there is always an angle. While I don’t disagree with much of what AG Torres has said about tech companies, Meta included, it’s the angle that really gets me. I truly wish that politicians and elected officials of the state really did care that much about children and mental health. They sure like to act like they do.
While tech companies DO need to be a lot more careful and need to have a lot more checks and balances In place where under age children are concerned in the world of social media and online predators, there is not all that much concern for children’s mental health or for children’s well-being in this state. The state leads the country and abortions. And not just abortions up to six weeks or two months, up to birth!
This state pushes for children to be given hormones and transgender surgery And would happily exclude parents in that decision. Do you want really want to address a mental health crisis tied to social media? Start there. Most of these children are already struggling with some kind of self doubt, insecurity, they just need to know that that is normal and they are OK and they are going to grow up and be just fine but no, the state would rather lie to parents and hide the fact that their kids are starting hormones because they think that is the fix to all of their problems. Especially young girls who start to develop and get attention that maybe they don’t want.
And yes, parents play a role in this. If you let your children have access to social media without any restrictions or monitoring their content, you are part of the problem. If you are not monitoring your child’s behavior on social media, you are part of the problem. If your child is trolling other kids, and making awful comments to them about their bodies, they’re worth, they’re very existence, shaming them, making it impossible for them to imagine showing up at school the next day, you are part of the problem. Do better, raise better humans. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” “Judge not, lest ye be judged.” We need a lot more Jesus and a lot more accountability and consequences for actions and that goes for children and adults.
There are so many things that are contributing to the mental health issues for children in this state and across the country and the world, but this happens to involve $1 billion for the state of New Mexico. $1 billion which I doubt will ever actually make it to all of these efforts and programs they’re talking about. Sadly, It’s going to line the pockets of crooked politicians.
While this money could genuinely help the children in this state by means of improving CYFD programs and getting more personnel on staff, increasing the number of psychologist and counselors available to children and families in this state, creating some incredible afterschool programs that keep kids off of the Internet, off of their phones and focused on something meaningful and productive, I have very little hope and high doubt that it’s ever going to make it where it needs to go. It will likely fund more abortion clinics and more transition clinics.
Sadly, mental health is not the focus. They just like to make it look like it is. I truly hope AG Torres is genuine, and his intentions are pure. Unfortunately that doesn’t matter much because AG Torres will not determine where the money goes.
Oh Crystal, hope is dillusional…hussien obama said “hope”…now he is going to support a socialist/islamist…as far from a constitutional republic anyone can get…get your burka ready gal, youll soon be 1/2 a person. Once you loose freedom and liberty its hard to get back…think that fatty on welfare will make any effort…oh. you can ” hope”.
I try to have high hopes, but I keep my expectations really low for this state. Unfortunately.
Newsflash : judge bryan just ordered that new electric ferrari…its so green and only $580 ,000.00…pretty good on his salary.