A New Mexico court has mandated that Meta contribute $567 million to a fund designed to mitigate the mental health impacts allegedly caused by its social media platforms on children. This decision comes on the heels of a March jury verdict, which found that Meta knowingly inflicted harm on children’s mental well-being and inadequately addressed child sexual exploitation within its platforms. With this latest order, Meta’s financial responsibility in the case has now climbed to $942 million.
From the $567 million allocated in this recent ruling, $420 million is earmarked for mental health treatment services targeting young individuals in New Mexico. The remainder of the funds will be directed towards initiatives such as prevention and awareness programs, screening services, and other supportive measures over the next five years. Additionally, the court has instructed Meta to enhance child-safety protocols on its platforms, Facebook and Instagram. This includes improving systems for verifying users’ ages, offering clearer guidance on safety and privacy tools, and developing strategies to identify users who may be under the age of 13.
The ruling also requires Meta to collaborate with educational institutions or child-safety organizations to establish a mechanism for reporting accounts suspected to belong to children under 13. The company is tasked with deleting any personal information gathered from such users and must submit biannual progress reports on its adherence to the court’s stipulations. Despite these directives, the court decided against implementing a universal age verification process solely in New Mexico, citing fairness concerns and existing federal privacy protections for minors.
Meta has expressed its opposition to the ruling and plans to appeal the decision, asserting that it is committed to user protection and has already undertaken measures to tackle harmful content and online safety issues. This case adds to the increasing legal challenges Meta faces regarding allegations that its platforms may negatively affect young users. Similar lawsuits are currently underway in various other U.S. states.