Punjab Newsline | New Mexico
A court in the US state of New Mexico has imposed a $942 million (about ₹9,030 crore) penalty on Meta Platforms, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, ruling that the company’s platforms contributed to harm to the mental health and safety of young users.
According to the court order, $420 million of the total amount will be directed toward treatment and mental health services for affected youth, while the remaining funds will be spent over the next five years on awareness campaigns, prevention programs, screening services, and child protection initiatives.
Case Heard in Two Phases
The lawsuit was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, the court ordered Meta to pay $375 million in civil penalties after finding that the company had allegedly been aware of incidents involving child sexual exploitation on its platforms but failed to take adequate action and concealed the extent of the problem.
In the second phase, the court imposed an additional $567 million penalty, bringing the total to $942 million.
Prosecutors Sought Major Reforms
During the proceedings, prosecutors urged the judge to require fundamental changes in Meta’s operations. The proposed reforms included:
Removing or limiting addictive platform features,
Strengthening age-verification systems,
Making privacy settings for minors more protective by default, and
Increasing monitoring and enforcement to prevent child sexual exploitation and online grooming.
Meta to Appeal
Meta has rejected the ruling and announced that it will appeal the decision. The company said it continues to invest heavily in safety tools, content moderation, and child protection measures, but argued that preventing all harmful activity by “bad actors” remains a significant challenge for online platforms.
Allegations by New Mexico Attorney General
The case was filed by New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez, who alleged that Instagram and Facebook were not safe for children and that Meta knowingly ignored risks associated with its platforms.
Prosecutors argued that Meta’s algorithms were designed in ways that encourage addictive use among minors, contributing to problems such as depression, eating disorders, anxiety, and suicidal behavior among young users.
The lawsuit was not limited to mental health concerns. It also alleged that Meta’s platforms had been used for child sexual exploitation and the targeting of minors by predators, and that the company failed to take sufficiently strong steps despite being aware of the dangers.
The ruling marks one of the largest financial penalties ever imposed on a social media company in a child safety and youth mental health case, and it is expected to intensify scrutiny of how major technology platforms design and regulate products used by children and teenagers.
