A US state court has ordered Meta to pay $567m (£425m) after finding the company responsible for harming children’s mental health.
Judge Bryan Biedscheid ruled the social media company behind Facebook and Instagram had created a public nuisance in New Mexico, siding with Raúl Torrez, the state’s attorney general.
Mr Torrez, a Democrat, accused Meta of designing its products to be addictive for young users and failing to protect children from sexual exploitation on its platforms.
Judge Biedscheid ordered the company to impose a range of safety measures, including monthly limits on teens’ use of Facebook and Instagram, restrictions on notifications, tighter controls on adult contact with minors, safeguards for AI chatbots, and enhanced review of child sexual abuse reports, under a $567m decree that will remain in place for five years.
Meta said it would appeal the ruling and that it had been working to identify and remove harmful content from its platforms.
“We remain confident in our record of protecting teens online and will continue to defend ourselves against claims that misrepresent the facts,” Meta said in a statement.
The ruling came in the second phase of New Mexico’s lawsuit. A jury in March had found Meta violated the state’s consumer protection law by misrepresenting the safety of Facebook and Instagram for young users.
It ordered the company to pay $375m (£281m) in damages.
Judge Biedscheid heard three weeks of testimony during the second phase, which did not involve a jury. It focused solely on whether Meta’s platforms created a “public nuisance” under New Mexico law.
The case is being closely watched as states, municipalities and school districts across the US pursue similar claims seeking to force changes at industry level.