Meta social media lawsuit overview:
- Who: A New Mexico judge ordered Meta Platforms to pay $567 million to address harm to children in the state.
- Why: The judge found Meta’s social media platforms “substantially contributed to a public nuisance” in New Mexico.
- Where: The Meta Platforms judgment was issued in New Mexico state court.
- How to get help: Have you or your child been affected by compulsive social media use? You may qualify to join a social media lawsuit.
A judge in New Mexico ordered Meta Platforms to pay an additional $567 million to address harm to children in the state after a jury found the company’s social media platforms “substantially contributed to a public nuisance” in New Mexico.
The Meta social media lawsuit ruling comes after a New Mexico jury awarded $375 million in March over allegations Meta knew about the mental health harms its Facebook and Instagram platforms caused to children but hid the full scope of the damage from the public.
The judge’s $567 million ruling is, however, far short of the $3.7 billion payment initially sought by the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office.
U.S. District Judge Bryan Biedscheid ordered Meta to create a new $567 million abatement fund and implement a number of abatement measures over the next five years, including improving its age assurance tools to try to delete accounts made by users under 13.
Meta must also maintain default safety settings for users under 18 and ensure unconnected adults cannot message underage users, along with eliminating push notifications for users under 18 during overnight hours and typical school hours.
Abatement fund includes allocations for treatment services, awareness
Of the $567 million abatement fund, $420 million is to be allocated for treatment services for mental health harms done to young people, while the remaining $147 million will go toward awareness and prevention, screening and other measures.
The judge’s ruling in Meta social media lawsuit comes after New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez continued the case to a bench trial in May to argue the state was entitled to dozens of court-ordered reforms and a $3.7 billion, 15-year abatement plan for the public nuisance it alleged Meta caused among underage users of Instagram, Facebook, Messenger and WhatsApp.
Torrez applauded the judge’s decision, arguing that Meta “knew for years” that its platforms were harming the state’s children but that it chose “engagement and profit over youngsters’ safety,” Law360 reports.
“This judgment holds the company accountable for the damage it caused to our children, our families and our schools, and it forces real changes to how Meta operates in New Mexico,” Torrez said.
Meta vowed to appeal the ruling, with a company spokesperson telling Law360 the company remains confident in its “record of protecting teens online” and will continue to defend itself against claims that “misrepresent the facts.”
The New Mexico Department of Justice filed the Meta social media lawsuit in December 2023, alleging the company’s social media platforms caused harm to children in the state.
Have you been negatively affected by Meta’s social media platforms? Let us know in the comments.
The state is represented by Raúl Torrez of the New Mexico Department of Justice and Donald Migliori, Linda Singer, Michael Pendell and David Ackerman of Motley Rice LLC.
The Meta social media lawsuit is New Mexico, et al. v. Meta Platforms Inc., Case No. D-101-CV-2023-02838, in the First Judicial District Court of New Mexico.
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