New Mexico Court Mandates Meta to Pay $567M for Children’s Mental Health Harms

POLICY WIRE — New Mexico, USA — A New Mexico court has ordered Meta, the parent company of Facebook, to pay $567 million into a fund aimed at addressing adverse mental health impacts from the social media giant’s platforms. The ruling, issued on Thursday, is part of the second phase of a landmark trial in which Meta was found liable for knowingly harming children’s mental health and concealing information about child sexual exploitation on its platforms.

In March, a jury determined that Meta imposed the maximum penalty, a $375 million fine, after finding the company had concealed what it knew about the harms its platforms caused to children’s mental health. The latest ruling expands the financial responsibility of Meta by an additional $200 million, bringing the total financial obligation to $567 million.

The court’s decision underscores the growing scrutiny and legal challenges faced by social media companies regarding the impact of their platforms on young users. The fund is intended to provide redress for the mental health harms identified during the trial.

Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)