A judge in New Mexico has ordered Meta to pay an additional US$567 million (RM2.4 billion) after finding the social media giant failed to adequately protect children from harmful content on its platforms.
The latest ruling brings the total penalty against Meta in the case to US$942 million, after the company had previously been ordered to pay US$375 million.
Judge Bryan Biedscheid ruled that Meta had become a “public nuisance,” comparing the company to a factory whose products create harmful “pollution” in the form of psychological harm and sexual exploitation affecting children.
He ordered the company to place the additional funds into a special programme aimed at reducing future harm and supporting children affected by social media.
The lawsuit, filed by the State of New Mexico in 2023, accused Meta of exposing children to sexually explicit material and allowing them to be targeted by online predators through its recommendation algorithms.
During the first phase of the trial, the court found that Meta’s algorithms repeatedly directed young users towards harmful content and inappropriate contacts, violating New Mexico’s consumer protection laws.
As part of the latest ruling, Meta has also been ordered to introduce several new child safety measures across Facebook and Instagram.
The company must prevent adult users from messaging minors they do not know, stop recommending accounts belonging to users under 18 to adults, prohibit the exchange of nude images involving minors, and permanently ban adults involved in child sexual exploitation after a single violation.
The judge also ordered Meta to remove public “like” counts for users under 18, disable push notifications between 10pm and 7am, as well as during school hours on weekdays, and introduce a monthly usage limit of 90 hours across Facebook and Instagram for underage users.
A large portion of the compensation, amounting to US$420 million, will fund mental health treatment programmes and behavioural support services for children affected by social media harms. The remaining funds will be used to improve education, prevention efforts and training for teachers and healthcare professionals.
Meta said it strongly disagrees with the ruling and plans to appeal, insisting it has invested heavily in protecting young users and removing harmful content from its platforms.
The company continues to face thousands of similar lawsuits across the United States, with another major child safety trial set to begin in California next week.
