New Mexico Court Orders Meta to Pay $567M for Youth Mental Health Harms

The Thursday ruling comes as part of the second phase of a landmark trial that found the social media company enabled harm against users. In March, a jury found that Meta knowingly harmed children’s mental health and concealed what it knew about child sexual exploitation on its platforms, imposing a $375m fine. The new ruling adds to that fine, bringing the total amount Meta is responsible for to $942m. Judge Bryan Biedscheid said the bulk of the money – $420m – would be used for treatment services for young people in New Mexico.

The rest will go toward awareness and prevention, screening services, and other costs over the next five years. The March trial was the first to find Meta liable for acts committed on its platform, and followed a 2023 Guardian investigation that revealed how Facebook and Instagram had become marketplaces for child sex trafficking.