{"id":3491571,"date":"2026-08-07T11:40:37","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T11:40:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/07\/new-mexico-court-mandates-meta-to-disburse-an-extra-567m-in-child-safety-lawsuit\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T11:40:37","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T11:40:37","slug":"new-mexico-court-mandates-meta-to-disburse-an-extra-567m-in-child-safety-lawsuit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/07\/new-mexico-court-mandates-meta-to-disburse-an-extra-567m-in-child-safety-lawsuit\/","title":{"rendered":"New Mexico court mandates Meta to disburse an extra $567M in child safety lawsuit"},"content":{"rendered":"
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On Thursday, a judge in New Mexico mandated that Meta pay a penalty of $567 million, in addition to the $375 million imposed in March, concerning the issues of social media-related harms and dependency. This elevates the total penalties the company must remit to $942 million.<\/p>\n

The court also directed Meta to implement modifications to its platform operations within the state: it requires the elimination of Like counts, displaying such metrics to users under 18 only with parental or guardian consent. Additionally, notifications to underage users must be halted between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m, and their usage should be restricted to 90 hours monthly, equating to about three hours per day.<\/p>\n

\u201cA considerable number of individuals in New Mexico suffer harm from Meta\u2019s offerings due to risks of sexual exploitation, disruption of education, and negative mental health effects,\u201d stated the order.<\/p>\n

The judge recognized that Meta is not the sole platform contributing to a mental health crisis among young people in the state, but insisted that its services significantly contribute. He remarked that the company has caused a serious \u201cpublic nuisance\u201d in New Mexico, and it is obligated to remedy that.<\/p>\n

Meta announced its intention to appeal the ruling.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe strive diligently to ensure the safety of individuals on our platforms and have been open about the difficulties of identifying and eliminating malicious actors and harmful material. We maintain confidence in our history of safeguarding teens online and will persist in defending ourselves against allegations that distort the facts,\u201d said company representative Andy Stone in a statement via email.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor years, Meta was aware that its platforms were detrimental to New Mexico\u2019s youth, from exacerbating a mental health crisis among adolescents to linking predators with children, yet it prioritized engagement and profitability over their welfare,\u201d stated state Attorney General Raul Torrez.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, Meta is facing the consequences of that decision. This ruling holds the company responsible for the harm it inflicted on our children, families, and educational institutions, and it compels genuine changes to how Meta conducts business in New Mexico,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

This verdict follows another setback in Los Angeles in March, where the court rejected the social media giant for fostering addictive behaviors.<\/p>\n

Meta is currently confronting several other lawsuits nationwide. One significant case is a coalition lawsuit involving 33 states, consolidated in a federal court in Oakland, California. Numerous other states, such as Tennessee, have initiated their own legal actions against the company.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn\u2019t affect our editorial independence.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

<\/div>\n
\n

On Thursday, a judge in New Mexico mandated that Meta pay a penalty of $567 million, in addition to the $375 million imposed in March, concerning the issues of social media-related harms and dependency. This elevates the total penalties the company must remit to $942 million.<\/p>\n

The court also directed Meta to implement modifications to its platform operations within the state: it requires the elimination of Like counts, displaying such metrics to users under 18 only with parental or guardian consent. Additionally, notifications to underage users must be halted between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m, and their usage should be restricted to 90 hours monthly, equating to about three hours per day.<\/p>\n

\u201cA considerable number of individuals in New Mexico suffer harm from Meta\u2019s offerings due to risks of sexual exploitation, disruption of education, and negative mental health effects,\u201d stated the order.<\/p>\n

The judge recognized that Meta is not the sole platform contributing to a mental health crisis among young people in the state, but insisted that its services significantly contribute. He remarked that the company has caused a serious \u201cpublic nuisance\u201d in New Mexico, and it is obligated to remedy that.<\/p>\n

Meta announced its intention to appeal the ruling.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe strive diligently to ensure the safety of individuals on our platforms and have been open about the difficulties of identifying and eliminating malicious actors and harmful material. We maintain confidence in our history of safeguarding teens online and will persist in defending ourselves against allegations that distort the facts,\u201d said company representative Andy Stone in a statement via email.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor years, Meta was aware that its platforms were detrimental to New Mexico\u2019s youth, from exacerbating a mental health crisis among adolescents to linking predators with children, yet it prioritized engagement and profitability over their welfare,\u201d stated state Attorney General Raul Torrez.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, Meta is facing the consequences of that decision. This ruling holds the company responsible for the harm it inflicted on our children, families, and educational institutions, and it compels genuine changes to how Meta conducts business in New Mexico,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

This verdict follows another setback in Los Angeles in March, where the court rejected the social media giant for fostering addictive behaviors.<\/p>\n

Meta is currently confronting several other lawsuits nationwide. One significant case is a coalition lawsuit involving 33 states, consolidated in a federal court in Oakland, California. Numerous other states, such as Tennessee, have initiated their own legal actions against the company.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn\u2019t affect our editorial independence.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3491572,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3491571","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3491571"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3491571"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3491571\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3491572"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3491571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3491571"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techingeek.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3491571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}