A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $567 million into an abatement fund on Thursday, ruling that the company's platforms are a significant contributing factor to a youth mental health crisis — the latest in a series of child safety cases the company faces nationwide.
A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $567 million into an abatement fund on Thursday, finding that the company's social media platforms constitute a public nuisance and are a significant contributing factor to a youth mental health crisis in the state.
The ruling, issued by Judge Bryan Biedscheid, came during the second phase of a child safety case brought by New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez. The first phase had already resulted in $375 million in civil penalties after a jury found Meta willfully violated the state's unfair practices act.
"Although Meta is not alone in this regard, its social media platforms are a significant contributing factor to the current mental health crisis among New Mexico's youth established by the substantial evidence in this case," Biedscheid wrote in the ruling.
The largest share of the abatement fund — $420 million — is designated for treatment of individuals harmed by the platforms. The remainder covers awareness and prevention efforts, screening and assessment, referrals and coordination, and implementation, quality improvement, and evaluation.
In reaching the public nuisance finding, Biedscheid cited expert testimony from professionals in fields including healthcare. One expert, according to the filing, "attributed the shortage of healthcare resources to 'the impacts of social media on our children,'" and described an insufficient number of mental health programs and services in the state to address youth whose well-being was allegedly damaged by social media apps.
"Expert testimony supports a causal link between social media and the youth mental health crisis in New Mexico," the filing stated.
Torrez framed the ruling in pointed terms. "For years, Meta knew its platforms were harming New Mexico's kids, from feeding a youth mental health crisis to connecting predators with children, and it chose engagement and profit over their safety," Torrez said in a statement. "Today, Meta is paying for that choice."
A Meta spokesperson said the company disagrees with the ruling and will appeal. "We work hard to keep people safe on our platforms and have been transparent about the challenges of identifying and removing bad actors and harmful content," the spokesperson said. "We remain confident in our record of protecting teens online and will continue to defend ourselves against claims that misrepresent the facts."
In addition to the financial remedy, Thursday's order requires Meta to continue improving "age assurance models and tools in New Mexico" using AI, and to attempt to develop, within two years, a dedicated under-13-years-of-age prediction model. The company is also required to make it easier to report underage users and to partner with schools or a child safety organization to build a reporting portal for school administrators.
Torrez originally sued Meta in 2023 following an undercover operation in which investigators created a fake profile of a 13-year-old girl that was, in the attorney general's words, "simply inundated with images and targeted solicitations" from child abusers.
The financial exposure facing Meta extends well beyond Thursday's figure. The company disclosed in its second-quarter financial filing that the New Mexico attorney general indicated an intent to seek up to $62.85 billion in total penalties in the case.
Legal experts have characterized this case and similar suits as a potential "Big Tobacco" moment for social media companies — a reference to the 1990s litigation that forced tobacco manufacturers to pay billions over public health harms and fundamentally curtailed their industry influence. With the appeal process ahead and the full scope of potential penalties still unresolved, the New Mexico case is likely to serve as a bellwether for how courts weigh public nuisance claims against digital platforms in the months ahead.
Sara Montes de Oca is the Editor in Chief of TechEchelon. Previously a correspondent and producer in Washington, D.C., covering business, finance, and politics.
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