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Court orders Instagram and Facebook's Meta to pay $567 million to address kids' mental health online
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A New Mexico court has ordered Instagram and Facebook parent company Meta to pay $567 million to address harms to young people from its platforms in the second phase of a landmark trial.
Key facts
- The total amount Meta is responsible for, $942 million, is a small fraction of of its annual profit, which was about $60 billion in 2025
- A New Mexico court has ordered Instagram and Facebook parent company Meta to pay $567 million to address harms to young people from its platforms in the second phase of a landmark trial
- Judge Bryan Biedscheid said in a ruling late Thursday that the bulk of the money, $420 million, will be used for treatment services for young people
- Additionally, Meta should also request proof of age for Instagram and Facebook users in New Mexico it estimates to be under 13
Summary
Judge Bryan Biedscheid said in a ruling late Thursday that the bulk of the money, $420 million, will be used for treatment services for young people. The new penalty is in addition to the $375 million in civil penalties that jurors ordered against Meta in March after determining the company knowingly harmed children's mental health and concealed what it knew about child sexual exploitation on its platforms. The total amount Meta is responsible for, $942 million, is a small fraction of of its annual profit, which was about $60 billion in 2025. Still, the ruling is another setback for Meta, which faces an avalanche of lawsuits from thousands of families of children harmed by social media.