New Mexico judge orders Meta to pay $567 million for child harms

New Mexico Judge Bryan Biedscheid ordered Meta to pay $567 million into an abatement fund aimed at child harms, with the bulk of the money earmarked for treatment services for young people.

The ruling in Santa Fe turned a landmark child-safety case into a direct financial remedy for youth mental-health damage. It came after a March 2026 jury verdict in the same New Mexico case had already found Meta liable and awarded $375 million, lifting the company’s exposure sharply higher in a case centered on Instagram and Facebook’s effects on children and teens.

Biedscheid said the fund would pay for treatment services, making the order more than a penalty on paper. It tied Meta’s liability to a concrete pool of money meant to reach young people through abatement spending, while also reflecting the court’s view that the company’s platforms had contributed to harms the state set out to prove at trial.

The New Mexico Department of Justice had pushed the second phase of the case toward injunctive relief and platform changes, arguing that Meta’s products created a hazard to public health and safety. The state sought nearly $1 billion in that phase and wanted the court to force changes to Meta’s services as well as monetary relief. CNBC reported the final order directed Meta to pay into a $567 million abatement fund, matching the state’s focus on remedies designed to change behavior and finance treatment.

The New Mexico case also fit into a wider legal campaign against social media companies over youth mental health. In October 2023, New York Attorney General Letitia James and a bipartisan coalition of 32 attorneys general filed a federal lawsuit against Meta over alleged harms to young people’s mental health. That same year, the U.S. Surgeon General issued an advisory warning that social media can pose risks to children and adolescents.

For Meta, the New Mexico ruling sharpened the accountability question at the center of the litigation: not whether the company would face another abstract regulatory fight, but how much it would be forced to pay to address harms the state tied to children online. The order also offered a template other states may study as they pursue social-media firms over youth mental health, blending jury liability with court-ordered funding for treatment and platform changes.