A New Mexico state court on Thursday ordered Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, to pay $567 million after finding that its platforms significantly contributed to the state's youth mental health crisis. The ruling, issued by Judge Bryan Biedscheid, adds to the $375 million in civil penalties a jury had already imposed on the tech giant in the first phase of the trial.
The jury had found that Meta violated New Mexico's Unfair Practices Act, which prohibits deceptive and misleading business conduct. The new monetary award is intended to fund a comprehensive abatement plan, according to state Attorney General Raúl Torrez (D).
In his ruling, Judge Biedscheid allocated $420 million for treatment programs, $90 million for mental health screenings and assessments, and the remaining funds for awareness campaigns, prevention efforts, and quality improvement initiatives. The judge wrote that while Meta is not the only actor, its platforms are "a significant contributing factor" to the mental health crisis among New Mexico's youth, based on substantial evidence presented during the trial.
Court finds Meta's design harms children
The judge also noted that social media use by children in the state "interferes with school operations and disturbs student learning environments," citing testimony about classroom disruptions. He further stated that Meta implemented platform features specifically designed to keep teenagers engaged, even when those features caused harm.
"Meta's platforms and its conduct related to those platforms cause harms that significantly interfere with public safety, public peace, and public comfort," Biedscheid wrote. "Those harms are of a continuing and long-lasting nature, and Meta has interfered with a public right and shared public resources."
Attorney General Torrez, who brought the case, praised the ruling, saying, "Meta is paying" for its design choices. He accused the company of knowing for years that its platforms were harming children, from fueling a mental health crisis to facilitating predator contact, yet prioritizing engagement and profit over safety.
Meta vows to appeal
A Meta spokesperson said the company disagrees with the ruling and plans to appeal. "We work hard to keep people safe on our platforms and have been transparent about the challenges of identifying and removing bad actors and harmful content," the spokesperson said in an email statement. "We remain confident in our record of protecting teens online and will continue to defend ourselves against claims that misrepresent the facts."
It remains unclear whether Meta will alter its operations in New Mexico. Shortly after the March jury verdict, Meta threatened to shut down its platforms in the state, arguing that the state's demands were "in many cases technologically impractical or completely impossible" and would essentially require building separate apps for New Mexico.
Broader legal pressure on Big Tech
The New Mexico ruling comes on the heels of a separate California jury verdict that found Meta and YouTube negligent in their platform design, ordering them to pay a combined $6 million to a plaintiff who became addicted to the platforms. That case, brought by a 20-year-old, consolidated thousands of lawsuits from individuals, school districts, and states against social media companies.
These back-to-back verdicts marked the first time juries held social media platforms liable for their impact on minors, sending a warning to the industry. Legal experts say the successful outcomes could pave the way for similar rulings in other cases. Torrez called the decision "a blueprint," adding, "Now other states, and other countries confronting the same crisis, have a roadmap they can follow."
The ruling also adds momentum to ongoing legislative efforts, such as the Senate panel's advancement of the Kids Online Safety Act, as lawmakers seek to address online harms to minors. Meanwhile, Meta's appeal will likely focus on the feasibility of the state's demands and the legal standards for proving causation.
