Meta ordered to pay $942 million over child safety harms

Meta was ordered to pay $567 million into a youth mental health and abatement fund after Judge Bryan Biedscheid in Santa Fe found the company created a public nuisance and harmed children’s well-being. The New Mexico ruling added to a prior $375 million jury award, pushing the total penalty to $942 million and forcing changes to how Facebook, Instagram and other Meta platforms function for young users.

The court’s order went beyond money. It required teen-use limits, chatbot safeguards and stricter child-safety reviews, a direct intervention into the design choices that the judge said endangered children and teens online. The money is intended for treatment services and harm-prevention efforts.

The earlier jury verdict came after jurors found Meta misled users about the safety of its platforms and exposed children to online predators and other harms. New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez backed the case and argued that Meta contributed to a youth mental health crisis. Meta said it would appeal.

The case was heard in the New Mexico First Judicial District Court, where Chief Judge Bryan Biedscheid listened to testimony in Santa Fe on May 22, 2026, at the end of the second phase of the proceeding. By turning part of the judgment into a mandated change in product behavior, the court put Facebook and Instagram’s teen-facing features under direct legal scrutiny, not just Meta’s finances.

The ruling adds pressure on social media companies that have long argued they can police harm through internal policy alone. Here, the court tied liability to product design itself, including how teen accounts are limited, how chatbots are handled and how child-safety reviews are conducted. Meta now faces both the financial penalty and the prospect of rewriting safety practices under a court order.