A New Mexico judge has ordered Meta Platforms to pay $567 million and remake key elements of how Facebook and Instagram operate for teenagers, in what state officials are calling the largest child-safety ruling ever issued against the company.
Judge Bryan Biedscheid, presiding in Santa Fe, ruled in favor of New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez, who had accused Meta of designing its products to keep young users hooked while failing to stop child sexual exploitation from taking place on its platforms, according to the BBC.
What the Decree Requires
The consent decree runs for five years and compels Meta to impose monthly limits on how much time teenagers can spend on Facebook and Instagram, restrict the notifications pushed to younger accounts, and tighten the mechanisms that govern how adults are able to contact minors on the platforms, CNBC reported.
The order also requires Meta to build new safeguards around its AI chatbots and to expand the company's review processes for identifying and removing child sexual abuse material across its services. Compliance with those provisions will be monitored for the life of the five-year order.
Of the $567 million, $420 million has been earmarked specifically for youth treatment services, according to RTÉ, funding intended to address the mental health toll officials say young users have experienced from heavy engagement with Meta's apps.
A Second Penalty in Five Months
The ruling compounds a separate $375 million civil penalty a jury ordered against Meta in March 2026, after finding the company had knowingly harmed children's mental health through the way it built and operated its platforms.
Taken together, the two judgments amount to more than $940 million in penalties and remedial funding tied to Meta's treatment of younger users, a striking sum for a single state's litigation and a sign of the legal exposure the company faces as similar lawsuits from other state attorneys general continue to move through the courts.
New Mexico's case was part of a broader wave of state actions accusing Meta of building features, including algorithmic feeds and engagement-driving notification systems, that kept minors on its apps for longer stretches even as internal research flagged risks to their wellbeing.
Meta has not said publicly whether it intends to appeal the New Mexico decree. The company is now expected to begin implementing the mandated changes to its teen-safety systems within the timeframe set by the court.
