- A New Mexico court has ordered Meta to pay $567 million to repair the damage caused to the mental health of minors by the design of its platforms.
- The ruling, which adds to the $375 million imposed in March, raises the total penalty to $942 million and forces the company to implement usage limits and strengthen age verification.
- Meta has announced that it will appeal the ruling, while the state attorney general celebrates a victory for the families and children.
The US justice system has once again focused on the impact of social media on young people. A court in the Santa Fe district of New Mexico has issued a landmark ruling against Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, finding that its platforms have contributed to the deterioration of adolescents' mental health. The company will have to pay $567 million (approximately €492 million) to fund a reparations fund for affected minors.
Judge Bryan Biedscheid has ruled that Meta's platforms constitute a "public nuisance," as their design seeks to maximize user interaction, even when this has detrimental effects on the well-being of young people. This ruling concludes the second phase of a civil lawsuit that began in 2023, when New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez sued the tech company for failing to protect minors from the risks of its apps.
A sanction that marks a turning point
The amount set by the court is no coincidence. Of the total fine, $420 million will be allocated to treatment programs for young people who have suffered harm related to social media use. The remaining $147 million will be distributed among awareness campaigns, detection and prevention services, and the implementation and auditing of these measures over the next five years.
This sentence comes on top of the one handed down in March, when a jury ordered Meta to pay $375 million for violating consumer protection laws by providing misleading information about the safety of its platforms for children and teenagers. In total, the company has accumulated $942 million in penalties in this case, a figure that reflects the seriousness of the allegations.
Measures beyond money
The ruling is not limited to financial compensation. The judge has ordered Meta to implement a series of changes to the way its networks operate to protect minors. Among the most notable measures are monthly usage limits for teenagers , restrictions on sending notifications, and stricter controls on contact between adults and minors.
In addition, the company will have to improve its age verification systems, using artificial intelligence-based tools to estimate users' ages. It will also have to create a reporting portal in collaboration with schools or child safety organizations, so that educational staff can report children under 13 who may be using the platforms without authorization.
Another requirement is to delete personal information collected from users under 13 years of age and develop a predictive model to identify these children within two years. The company must submit semi-annual reports to the court detailing its compliance with all these obligations.
Meta's response and the global context
The tech company was quick to react. In a statement, a Meta spokesperson confirmed that it will appeal the ruling , arguing that the company works diligently to keep users safe and has been transparent about the challenges of identifying and removing harmful content. “We remain confident in our track record of protecting teens online,” the spokesperson said.
For his part, the New Mexico attorney general celebrated the decision, calling it “a victory for all parents who have worried about what social media is doing to their children.” Torrez emphasized that the case seeks to protect families and ensure that one of the world’s largest technology companies does not profit from practices that endanger young people.
A precedent with repercussions in Europe and Spain
Although the ruling is limited to the state of New Mexico, its repercussions extend far beyond its borders. In the European Union, the Digital Services Regulation (DSA) already requires large platforms, such as Meta, to assess and mitigate systemic risks to children, with penalties that can reach 6% of their annual global revenue.
In Spain, this ruling could serve as an impetus for the Spanish Data Protection Agency and the Ministry of Youth and Children to strengthen their mechanisms for controlling content accessible to minors. The case demonstrates that authorities can obtain multimillion-euro judgments if they prove that the company concealed information and misled consumers about the safety of its products.
Legal pressure against Big Tech continues to mount. More than 30 US states have similar lawsuits against Meta over the effects of social media on children's mental health, and this ruling could set an important precedent for future cases.
With this ruling, the US justice system sends a clear message: digital platforms must take responsibility for the impact they have on the most vulnerable. The combination of a multimillion-dollar fine and the imposition of corrective measures represents a significant step forward in protecting minors in the digital environment, although there is still a long way to go toward stricter regulation.