New Mexico Court Fines Meta $567M for Teen Safety Failures

The ruling, issued by a state district court, follows a lawsuit filed by the New Mexico Attorney General's office in 2023. The suit accused Meta of prioritizing engagement over the well-being of young users, allowing harmful content to proliferate on its platforms.

Under the court order, Meta must enforce mandatory age verification for all users in the state. The company is also required to cap daily screen time for minors at 90 hours per month, a limit that applies across its platforms, and to block notifications between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. local time.

The $567 million penalty will be directed to a fund supporting youth mental health programs in New Mexico. State officials said the money will be used for school-based counseling, crisis intervention services, and public awareness campaigns about online safety.

Meta has not yet announced whether it will appeal the decision. The company previously stated that it has invested in parental controls and content moderation, but the court found these measures insufficient to protect minors from harm.

This ruling is one of the largest state-level penalties against a social media company for child safety violations. It could influence similar cases in other states, as lawmakers and attorneys general across the country scrutinize the impact of social media on adolescent mental health.