Meta fined additional $567 million by New Mexico court over youth safety concerns

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO, Meta.A New Mexico court has ordered Meta to pay an additional $567 million over allegations of social media harms and addiction, taking the total fines against the company in the case to $942 million, according to TechCrunch.The latest penalty follows a $375 million fine imposed in March.The court has also ordered Meta to make changes to how its platforms operate in the state.

The company must remove Like counts and can display the metrics to users under 18 only with approval from a parent or guardian.Push notifications to underage users must also be paused between 10 pm and 7 am.

Their platform usage is to be limited to 90 hours a month, or about three hours a day.“Significant numbers of people in New Mexico experience harm from Meta’s products due to risks of sexual exploitation, interference with education, and adverse mental health outcomes,” the court order said.The judge acknowledged that Meta is not the only platform contributing to the youth mental health crisis in the state but said its platforms play a significant role.

He also said Meta had created a significant “public nuisance” in New Mexico and was required to address it.Meta said it would appeal the judgment.“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.

We remain confident in our record of protecting teens online and will continue to defend ourselves against claims that misrepresent the facts,” Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said in an emailed statement.New Mexico lawsuit adds to Meta’s legal challengesNew Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez said Meta had known for years that its platforms were harming children in the state.“For years, Meta knew its platforms were harming New Mexico’s kids, from feeding a youth mental health crisis to connecting predators with children, and it chose engagement and profit over their safety,” Torrez said.“Today, Meta is paying for that choice.

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,” he added.The ruling follows another court loss for Meta in Los Angeles in March, where a court also ruled against the company over allegations that its platforms created addictive patterns.Meta is facing several other lawsuits in the US, including a joint case brought by 33 states that was consolidated in a federal court in Oakland, California.

States including Tennessee have also filed separate cases against the company.