A US judge has ordered Meta to pay $567 million for failing to warn the public about the dangers its platforms posed to children — the largest fine the company has ever faced over child safety issues, and the first time a social media company has been legally declared a “public nuisance.”
Judge Bryan Biedscheid, sitting in New Mexico, ordered the funds placed into a dedicated account to mitigate future harms. The ruling adds to a $375 million fine Meta was already ordered to pay in the same case, bringing the total to $942 million. Meta said it disagrees with the ruling and will appeal.
Judge Biedscheid’s framing was striking. He compared Meta to a factory whose advertising and recommendation systems produce a form of pollution — not toxic gas or chemical runoff, but “the psychological harm and sexual exploitation of children.” The harmful effects of Meta’s platforms, he wrote, “migrate to the internet as a whole and, perhaps most concerning, to the real world,” creating “a common, societal burden on and harm to the affected children and their families,” as well as schools, hospitals, and law enforcement.
What the Case Found
The case originated from a 2023 lawsuit filed by New Mexico’s state attorneys arguing Meta should be held liable for exposing children to sexually explicit material and sexual predators through its recommendation systems. In the first phase of the trial, Meta was found to have violated New Mexico’s Unfair Practices Act by operating algorithms that steered young users toward harmful content and contacts.
Thursday’s ruling addressed the second phase: how significant and widespread that harm had become. The judge concluded it had reached the level of a public nuisance — a legal standard typically applied to industrial pollution or environmental contamination — and that the company’s conduct warranted a fund specifically designated for remediation.
The majority of the $567 million — $420 million — will fund treatment of harms already caused, including clinical and behavioural health programmes. Additional money will go toward training teachers, health professionals, and others on how to recognise and address social media harms to children.
What Meta Has Been Ordered to Change
Beyond the financial penalty, the judge ordered a series of operational changes to how Meta’s platforms treat users under 18. Among the requirements: no account belonging to a minor may be recommended to an adult; no adult may message an underage user; underage users are banned from sending or receiving nudity; a one-strike policy applies for adults who engage in child sexual exploitation; “like” counts must be hidden for users under 18; push notifications must be disabled between 10pm and 7am every day, and between 8am and 3pm on school days except weekends; and a mandatory monthly usage cap of 90 hours across Instagram and Facebook — approximately three hours per day — will apply to users under 18.
Meta said it “works hard to keep people safe on its platforms” and is “confident in our record of protecting teens online.” It will appeal.
Where This Fits in the Broader Picture
The New Mexico ruling is the most significant in what has become a widening legal and regulatory campaign against Meta’s conduct around children. Earlier this year, Meta lost a landmark case in Los Angeles in which a court found it could be held liable for building addictive platforms. The company is also currently facing thousands of similar lawsuits across the United States.
A major trial begins next week in California, where nearly three dozen state attorneys general are suing Meta for alleged child privacy law violations.
Globally, the pressure is intensifying. The UK recently announced plans to ban under-16s from social media and introduce opt-out nighttime curfews for older teenagers. The EU is pushing for similar platform-level restrictions. Former safeguarding minister Jess Phillips said Thursday that US court challenges could embolden the UK to take tougher action without diplomatic concern.
For context on the fines’ scale: Meta posted $61 billion in revenue in the second quarter of 2026, up 28% year on year. Former Twitter executive Bruce Daisley acknowledged the fine was “a drop in the ocean” for the company financially, but said it signals a genuine shift. “We are moving to a stage where social media is going to be tackled around the world.”
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