Meta New Mexico child safety ruling adds $567 million abatement fund
A judge ordered Meta to fund $567 million in youth-harm remedies, lifting its stated liability in the case to $942 million as it plans an appeal.
By Theo Nakamura · Staff Writer
· 3 min read
The Meta New Mexico child safety ruling requires the company to put $567 million into a fund for addressing harms to young people, adding to $375 million in civil penalties imposed earlier in the case. For investors, the immediate financial figure is a stated $942 million total, but Meta has said it disagrees with the decision and will appeal, so the litigation is not finished.
Judge Bryan Biedscheid issued the new remedy in the second phase of New Mexico’s case against the Facebook and Instagram parent. The judge found Meta’s platforms were a significant contributing factor to the state’s youth mental-health crisis and amounted to a public nuisance, according to CNBC and the BBC.
The $567 million is an abatement fund, rather than another conventional civil fine. An abatement fund is money earmarked to reduce or address harm that a court has found. PBS and CNBC report that $420 million is designated for treatment services, with the balance directed to awareness and prevention, screening and assessment, referrals and coordination, and related implementation and evaluation work.
What does the Meta New Mexico child safety ruling require?
The order goes beyond the fund. Meta must continue improving its age-assurance tools in New Mexico and try to develop a model that predicts whether a user is under 13 within two years, according to PBS and CNBC. Age assurance refers to methods a platform uses to estimate or verify a user’s age.
PBS reported that Meta must seek proof of age from New Mexico Facebook and Instagram users it estimates are under 13. Users determined to be under 13, as well as certain users under 18 whose precise age cannot be estimated, must be treated according to those age categories unless they verify their age.
- Meta must work with schools or a child-safety organization on a portal for staff to flag accounts suspected of belonging to users under 13.
- The company must report twice a year on its compliance and delete personal information collected on users under 13, PBS reported.
- The order includes limits intended to protect underage users, including restrictions on adult recommendations and messaging, nudity involving minors, push notifications and monthly usage. Reporting also describes limits involving like counts, though accounts differ on the exact measure.
New Mexico sued Meta in 2023. In March, a jury found the company had violated the state’s Unfair Practices Act, leading to the earlier $375 million civil-penalty award, according to the BBC, PBS and CNBC. The later phase considered whether the conduct created a public nuisance and what remedies should follow.
Meta said it works to protect people on its platforms, has been open about the difficulty of identifying harmful content and bad actors, and remains confident in its teen-safety record. The company said it will defend itself against claims it says misstate the facts.
The case is separate from other youth-harm litigation facing Meta, including a federal multi-district action involving states in Oakland, California. Those proceedings have different claims and procedural stages.
This story draws on original reporting from TechCrunch.
