Meta has been ordered to pay $567 million in the second phase of New Mexico’s landmark child safety case, bringing total charges to nearly $1 billion for being a “public nuisance.” In a ruling published on Thursday, the Santa Fe district court found that Meta’s platforms are a “significant contributing cause” of a teen mental health crisis affecting public health and safety throughout New Mexico.
“This case has always been about protecting children, standing up for families, and making sure that one of the world’s largest technology companies cannot profit from practices that endanger young people without consequence,” New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez said in a statement. “Today’s decision is a victory for every parent who has worried about what social media is doing to their child and every child who deserves to grow up safer online.”
The $567 million will be put into an abatement fund that will go towards funding awareness and prevention measures, screening services, and treatment for people harmed by the company’s platforms. The abatement fund order is in addition to the $375 million in civil penalties that Meta was ordered to pay in the first phase of the New Mexico case, bringing Meta’s total charges to $942 million.
“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.”