A court on Thursday ordered Meta to pay $567 million into a fund over child harm.
New Mexico Judge Bryan Biedscheid compared Meta to air pollution and called it a “public nuisance.”
“Although Meta is not alone in this regard, its social media platforms are a significant contributing factor to the current mental health crisis among New Mexico’s youth established by the substantial evidence in this case,” Judge Bryan Biedscheid wrote in the ruling on Thursday, CNBC reported.
KCRA reported:
A New Mexico court has ordered Instagram and Facebook parent company Meta to pay $567 million to address harms to young people from its platforms in the second phase of a landmark trial the social media giant lost in March.
In a ruling late Thursday, Judge Bryan Biedcheid said the bulk of the money — $420 million — will be used for treatment services for young people. The rest will go toward awareness and prevention, screening services and other costs over the next five years.
In the first phase, jurors had ordered $375 million in civil penalties against Meta, determining that it knowingly harmed children’s mental health and concealed what it knew about child sexual exploitation on its platforms.
In the second phase, prosecutors had asked the judge to impose fundamental changes at Meta aimed at reining in addictive features, improving age verification and preventing child sexual exploitation through default privacy settings and closer oversight.
In March, a Los Angeles, California, jury found that Meta and YouTube were liable for a teen’s mental health and awarded her $3 million in damages.
The plaintiff, a 20-year-old woman identified as KGM or “Kaley,” said she became addicted to Meta’s app Instagram and Google’s YouTube as a child.
KGM said she developed body dysmorphia and had suicidal ideations because of her addiction to the social media platforms.
Legal experts said March’s landmark decision against the social media giants is comparable to a previous settlement agreement with “Big Tobacco.”
On Thursday, a New Mexico court ordered Meta to pay a whopping $567 million payment in the largest ruling against the social media company yet.
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