Meta ordered to pay $567 million over teen mental health harm

A New Mexico court ordered Meta to pay $567 million into a teen mental health fund and to change child-safety protections after finding Facebook and Instagram helped fuel youth mental health harm. The ruling deepens pressure on the company over the gap between its safety promises and the way its products are built for engagement.

The case has become one of the sharpest tests of whether platforms can keep teenagers safe while still relying on design choices that pull them back in. The court tied the harm to Meta’s platforms, and the order went beyond money by requiring changes to protections aimed at children and teens.

Dr. Megan Moreno, a University of Wisconsin professor and co-medical director of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Center of Excellence on Social Media and Youth Mental Health, has emerged as one of the leading voices on how social platforms affect children’s well-being. Her work has focused on the need for open parent-child communication and clearer boundaries around social media use, a message she has repeated in guidance shared by UW Health and Wisconsin outlets.

Moreno’s advice has been practical rather than abstract. She has urged parents to set stricter rules for when and how children use social media, especially around the school year, and to talk directly with them about what happens online. That approach reflects a broader shift in the debate from asking whether social media is harmful to asking which product features are most responsible and which ones companies could change immediately.

Those changes, experts say, include stronger account protections, tighter monitoring and limits on youth use. The New Mexico ruling adds legal force to that argument, putting Meta under both financial and regulatory pressure just as lawmakers and health advocates keep questioning whether Facebook and Instagram are designed to support children’s mental health or to maximize time spent on the apps.

Meta said it would appeal the ruling, setting up the next stage of a fight that now reaches well beyond one state. With a $567 million penalty and a court order aimed at child safety, the company faces growing scrutiny over whether its products match the protections it says they provide.