In a ruling on Thursday (August 6), a state court in New Mexico ordered Meta Corporation to pay $567 million and change the way its platform operates for young users over concerns about children’s mental health.
Judge Bryan Biedscheid supported the lawsuit filed by the state’s Attorney General Raúl Torrez, a Democrat, and found that the company’s operations in New Mexico caused “public harm.”
Torrez accused the social media company of designing products to make young users addicted and failing to protect children from sexual exploitation on its platform.
Judge Biedscheid ordered the company to implement a series of youth protection measures, including:
– Limiting the time young people can spend on Facebook and Instagram each day;
– Restricting notifications sent to teenagers on the platform;
– Further limiting adult interactions with minors;
– Establishing a set of rules, technologies, and systems to prevent the misuse, malfunction, or harm caused by AI;
– Strengthening the review of reports of child sexual abuse.
The judge mandated that the company allocate $567 million for these protection measures over the course of five years.
Meta has announced its intention to appeal the ruling and stated that it has been working diligently to identify and remove harmful content from its platform. In a statement, Meta said, “We are confident in our record of protecting young people online and will continue to defend our interests against distorted accusations.”
This ruling marks the outcome of the second phase of the lawsuit in New Mexico.
In March, a jury found Meta guilty of violating the state’s consumer protection laws by falsely advertising the safety of Facebook and Instagram for young users. The jury ordered the company to pay $375 million in damages.
During the second trial, Judge Biedscheid heard three weeks of testimonies. Unlike the first trial, this trial did not involve a jury and focused solely on whether Meta’s platform constituted “public harm” under New Mexico law.
Similar lawsuits are being brought forth by states, cities, and school districts across the country in an effort to compel changes within the industry, making the New Mexico case a closely watched one nationwide.
(This article references a report from Reuters.)