New Mexico court orders Meta to pay $942 million total over child safety failures
A judge found Meta's platforms created a 'public nuisance' for young users and ordered sweeping changes, including nighttime notification blackouts and monthly screen-time caps for under-18s.
Key points
- A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay an additional $567 million fine on top of the $375 million levied in March 2025, bringing the total to $942 million.
- The court ruled Meta's platforms, Facebook and Instagram, caused a "public nuisance" by exposing children to sexual exploitation, mental health harm and interference with their education.
- Under the order, Meta must remove visible Like counts for users under 18 and pause push notifications for minors between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.
- Teen users face a new 90-hour monthly cap on platform use, roughly three hours per day.
- Meta says it will appeal the judgment.
A New Mexico court has ordered Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, to pay $942 million in fines over the harm its platforms caused to children in the state. The latest penalty, $567 million handed down Thursday, sits on top of a $375 million fine the same court issued in March.
What did the court actually find?
The judge ruled that Meta's platforms created a significant "public nuisance" in New Mexico, meaning they caused widespread harm to the public that the company was legally required to fix. The order stated that large numbers of children in the state experienced sexual exploitation, disrupted schooling and worsening mental health because of how Meta designed and ran its apps.
The ruling does not say Meta is the only platform with these problems. But the judge found its role large enough to justify holding it solely accountable here.
What changes will Meta have to make?
Beyond the money, the court is demanding concrete changes to how the platforms work for anyone under 18. Like counts, the running tally of hearts and thumbs-up that research links to anxiety and social comparison in teenagers, must be hidden from young users unless a parent or guardian specifically approves them.
Push notifications, the alerts that buzz phones and pull users back into an app, must stop between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. for minors. Total monthly use is capped at 90 hours, or about three hours a day.
For parents, those limits are worth knowing even if courts elsewhere do not yet enforce them. Many parental-control apps already let families set similar boundaries voluntarily.
What happens next?
Meta will appeal. Spokesperson Andy Stone said the company "works hard to keep people safe" and called the claims a misrepresentation of its record. Appeals in cases like this can take years, so the fines and rule changes may not take effect quickly.
This case is not isolated. A joint lawsuit brought by 33 US states sits in a federal court in Oakland, California. Tennessee and several other states have filed their own cases. In March, a Los Angeles court also ruled against Meta over addictive design patterns, first reported by TechCrunch.
| Event | Amount / detail | Date |
|---|---|---|
| First New Mexico fine | $375 million | March 2025 |
| Second New Mexico fine | $567 million | July 2025 |
| Combined New Mexico total | $942 million | 2025 |
| States in joint Oakland lawsuit | 33 states | Ongoing |
New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez called the ruling a direct consequence of Meta choosing "engagement and profit over safety" for years. Meta says it disagrees and will keep defending itself.
Common questions
Does this ruling affect how Facebook and Instagram work right now?
Not yet. Meta plans to appeal, which means the changes and fines go through a review process that typically takes months to years before anything is enforced.
Can parents set these same limits today without waiting for a court?
Yes. Both Android and iOS include built-in screen-time controls that let parents cap daily app use and block notifications overnight, without needing any app-level change from Meta.
