A court in New Mexico is ordering Meta, Facebook’s parent company, to pay $567 million to a teen mental health program and also change how its software operates for young users.
The orders come from Bryan Beidscheid, a judge in Santa Fe, whose ruling charged the company created a “public nuisance.”
A report at the Washington Stand said the problems resulted in harming children’s wellbeing.
State Attorney General Raul Torrez had brought the case and claimed the social media operator designed products to addict young users and then failed to protect them from sexual exploitation online.
A jury earlier had ruled that Meta must pay $375 million for violating consumer protection laws in that it misrepresented the safety of Facebook.
🚨 META JUST GOT HIT WITH NEARLY $1 BILLION IN FINES FOR HARMING KIDS
A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay $567 million after finding the company failed to address social media addiction and mental health damage to children.
That brings Meta’s total state fines to $942… pic.twitter.com/5v13U2mqzp
— Gunther Eagleman™ (@GuntherEagleman) August 7, 2026
A New Mexico judge branded Facebook and Instagram owner Meta a “public nuisance,” and ordered the company to pay $567 million into a fund to remediate harms its apps caused to children. https://t.co/0p0GONyzOg
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) August 7, 2026
According to the report, “The case was being closely watched amid a growing wave of litigation accusing social media companies of harming young users. While many lawsuits have been brought by children and families over alleged injuries to individuals, states, municipalities and school districts have also pursued lawsuits seeking broad changes to the industry.”
The report noted dozens of states already have complained, in public nuisance cases, about social media companies and have gone to court demanding damages as well as changes in the software operations.
This court’s order, which is being appealed, said Meta had to install youth-safety measures such as limits on adult contact with them, AI chatbots and more.
Torrez claimed, of the decision, “This is not just a judgment against one company. It is a blueprint. Now other states, and other countries confronting the same crisis, have a roadmap they can follow.”
The judge’s ruling specifically ordered Meta to stop children in the state from “engaging in
romantic or sexualized interactions with Meta’s artificial intelligence chatbots” and to prevent adults in New Mexico from using chatbots to simulate or discuss a sexualized interaction with a child.
Meta charged that some of the changes being demanded are technologically impossible, and the claims were pre-empted by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
