A New Mexico state court has ordered Meta Platforms to pay $567 million into a teen mental health fund and implement platform changes to protect young users in the state. Judge Bryan Biedscheid ruled Thursday in Santa Fe that Meta's Facebook and Instagram platforms created a public nuisance by being designed in ways that addicted young users and failed to protect them from sexual exploitation. Meta, which denies the allegations, stated it will appeal the ruling and argued that the claims misrepresented the facts.
The decision follows a previous phase of the case where a jury awarded New Mexico $375 million on consumer protection claims, bringing the total combined penalty to $942 million. The court order requires Meta to introduce stricter age verification, restrict users under 18 to 90 hours of use per month, and disable push notifications during school hours and overnight. Additionally, Meta must ban sexualized chatbot interactions with minors, blur suspected nudity in images, and require parental consent to display the number of "likes" on a child's post.
During the trial, Meta argued that the proposed changes were not technologically possible and could force the company to cease operations in New Mexico. The judge rejected the company's request to dismiss the case under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, a federal law that typically shields online platforms from liability regarding content posted by users. While the judge mandated several safety measures, he rejected New Mexico's requests to modify Meta's algorithms or remove features like infinite scroll and autoplay.
For young users in New Mexico, the day-to-day experience of social media will change significantly if the ruling stands. They would notice their apps becoming inaccessible after 90 hours of monthly use—averaging roughly three hours per day—and silence from push notifications during the school day and late at night. The ruling also changes the legal landscape for tech companies by utilizing "public nuisance" law, which has historically been applied to environmental pollution or the marketing of opioids and tobacco, rather than digital product design.
The decision sets a potential precedent for thousands of pending lawsuits. While this specific ruling applies only to New Mexico, Attorney General Raúl Torrez described it as a "blueprint" for more than 40 states and 1,300 school districts currently pursuing litigation. The next significant development is a federal trial scheduled for August 12 in Oakland, California, where 29 states are seeking damages and product changes based on claims that Meta addicted young users and illegally collected their data. Meta has consistently maintained that it has invested in safety tools and worked to remove harmful content.
Why: Judge Bryan Biedscheid ruled that Meta created a public nuisance and failed to protect young users from addiction and sexual exploitation. Who: Meta Platforms (owner of Facebook and Instagram), Judge Bryan Biedscheid, and New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez. What: A court order for Meta to pay $567 million and implement safety changes for minor users in New Mexico. Where: Santa Fe, New Mexico. When_text: Thursday, August 6, 2026.