Meta ordered to pay $567mn by New Mexico court over harm to children

A New Mexico court has ordered Meta to pay $567million into a fund to address the mental health impacts of Facebook and Instagram on children, according to the Guardian.

The ruling follows a landmark trial in March, when a jury found Meta knowingly harmed children's mental health and concealed what it knew about child sexual exploitation on its platforms.

The jury also imposed a $375million fine, bringing the company's total liability to $942million.

Judge Bryan Biedscheid said $420million of the latest award will fund treatment services for young people in New Mexico.

The remaining money will support awareness campaigns, prevention programmes and screening services over the next five years.

The court also ordered Meta to strengthen child safety measures, including improving age assurance technology, requesting proof of age from suspected underage users and developing a prediction model to identify children under 13.

New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez welcomed the decision, saying: "This case has always been about protecting children, standing up for families, and making sure that one of the world’s largest technology companies cannot profit from practices that endanger young people without consequence."

Meta said it 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,” a company spokesperson told the Guardian.

“We remain confident in our record of protecting teens online and will continue to defend ourselves against claims that misrepresent the facts," they added.