A New Mexico judge finds the company’s platforms a public nuisance fueling youth mental health harm. He orders sweeping changes for underage users.
A Santa Fe judge ruled late Thursday that Meta’s Facebook and Instagram platforms significantly contributed to New Mexico’s youth mental health crisis and created a public nuisance. Therefore, Judge Bryan Biedscheid ordered the company to pay $567 million into a five-year abatement fund. He also ordered Meta to implement new safety measures for users under 18 in the state.
The payment comes on top of a $375 million civil penalty a jury imposed in March for 75,000 violations of the state’s Unfair Practices Act. Combined, Meta faces roughly $942 million in the case.
The Court’s Core Finding
Biedscheid compared Meta’s platforms to a factory whose “pollution” is psychological harm and the sexual exploitation of children. He wrote that features designed to maximize engagement contributed to higher rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm, eating disorders, and suicide risk among young people. Additionally, the platforms added pressure on schools, law enforcement, and the state’s mental health system.
The $567 million fund breaks down as roughly $420 million for treatment, $90 million for screening and assessment, $33 million for prevention and awareness, $15 million for referrals and care coordination, and $9 million for oversight. Lawmakers will decide how the money is distributed.
Required Platform Changes
The order applies only in New Mexico and lasts five years. Key mandates include:
- Private-by-default settings for users under 18, with friend limits largely restricted to other under-18 accounts.
- No recommendations of under-18 accounts to adults and no messaging from unconnected adults.
- Monthly usage capped at 90 hours across Facebook and Instagram (about three hours a day).
- Push notifications blocked overnight (10 p.m. to 7 a.m.) and during school hours on weekdays.
- Improved age-assurance tools, including efforts to build a dedicated under-13 prediction model within two years. This order also includes deletion of unverified under-13 accounts.
- Bans on romantic or sexualized interactions with Meta’s AI chatbots for minors, plus stronger handling of child sexual exploitation reports.
WhatsApp is excluded from the relief.
What Comes Next
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez called the ruling a “blueprint” for other states and said Meta “chose engagement and profit over their safety.” Moreover, he plans to push state legislation for stronger age verification and updated consumer protection laws.
Meta said it disagrees with the decision and will appeal. A company spokesperson stated: “We work hard to keep people safe on our platforms and have been transparent about the challenges of identifying and removing bad actors and harmful content. We remain confident in our record of protecting teens online and will continue to defend ourselves against claims that misrepresent the facts.”
The case is part of a broader wave of litigation by more than 40 states and over 1,300 school districts accusing social media companies of harming young users. It is the first time a court has held a major platform financially and structurally accountable under a public nuisance theory for product design that endangers children.