New Mexico Court Adds $567M Fine Against Meta in Child Safety Case

Lead

Meta has been hit with another major setback in a New Mexico child safety case. According to TechCrunch, a state court judge ordered the company to pay an additional $567 million, on top of the $375 million penalty issued in March. Together, the fines now total $942 million in a case focused on social media harms, addiction, and risks to children.

The ruling goes beyond financial penalties. It also requires Meta to change how its platforms operate for underage users in New Mexico, targeting engagement features that regulators and courts increasingly see as part of the problem.

Key points

• The total fine has climbed sharply: The latest $567 million order brings Meta’s total penalties in this case to $942 million.
• Like counts face restrictions: The court wants Meta to remove Like counts in the state, and to show such metrics to users under 18 only with approval from a parent or guardian.
• Notifications and time limits are part of the order: Push notifications to underage users in New Mexico must be paused from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. Usage should also be limited to 90 hours per month, or roughly three hours per day.
• The court framed the issue as a public nuisance: The order said significant numbers of people in New Mexico experience harm from Meta’s products, citing risks including sexual exploitation, interference with education, and adverse mental health outcomes.
• Meta plans to appeal: Company spokesperson Andy Stone said Meta works hard to keep people safe and has been transparent about the challenges of identifying and removing bad actors and harmful content. He said the company remains confident in its teen safety record and will defend itself against claims it says misrepresent the facts.

Why it matters

The ruling is notable because it focuses not only on harmful content, but also on product design. Features such as Like counts, push notifications, and time spent in apps have long been central to social media engagement. In this case, the court treated those mechanics as relevant to child safety and public harm.

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez argued that Meta had known its platforms were harming children in the state and chose engagement and profit over safety. Meta rejects that characterization and will appeal, so the final legal outcome is not settled. Still, the order shows how state-level litigation is trying to force concrete changes to platform behavior.

The case also fits into a broader wave of U.S. legal challenges against Meta. TechCrunch notes that the company faced another loss in Los Angeles in March over addictive patterns. It is also dealing with a consolidated lawsuit from 33 states in federal court in Oakland, California, along with separate cases brought by other states such as Tennessee.

For the wider tech industry, the message is clear: youth safety scrutiny is moving from content moderation into the architecture of social platforms. Courts and regulators are increasingly asking whether design choices that maximize engagement may create foreseeable risks for minors.

Source: TechCrunch AI