New Mexico judge orders Meta to pay $567 mln into youth harm abatement fund

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, is seen in the U.S. Capitol after a meeting in the office of Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., March 26, 2026. Tom Williams | CQ-Roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images

A judge in New Mexico has ordered Meta to pay $567 million into an abatement fund after a jury ruled the company willfully violated the state’s unfair practices act. The ruling is part of a public nuisance case that is one of many lawsuits the company faces related to alleged harms caused by its apps.

Key Ruling Details

• Judge Bryan Biedscheid issued the order on Thursday, stating that Meta's platforms are a "significant contributing factor to the current mental health crisis among New Mexico's youth."
• The $567 million abatement fund is in addition to the $375 million in civil penalties Meta was forced to pay earlier this year after being found to have violated New Mexico's unfair practices act.
• The second phase of the trial, which began in May, was intended to determine whether Meta's actions created a public nuisance, warranting potential product changes.

Allocation of the Abatement Fund

| Purpose | Amount | |---|---| | Treatment for people harmed by the platform | $420 million | | Awareness and prevention | Remaining funds | | Screening, assessment, and referrals | Remaining funds | | Implementation, quality improvement, and evaluation | Remaining funds |

Broader Context

For Meta and its peers, this case is one of several this year that experts have characterized as social media's "Big Tobacco" moment. In the 1990s, tobacco companies were forced to pay billions of dollars for misleading the public about the safety and potential harms of their products, and subsequently saw their power and influence dwindle dramatically.

Meta noted in its second-quarter financial filing that "the New Mexico Attorney General has indicated that they intend to seek up to $62.85 billion in penalties in this case."

Background of the Lawsuit

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez sued Meta in 2023 following an undercover operation involving the creation of a fake social media profile of a 13-year-old girl. Torrez previously told CNBC that the profile "was simply inundated with images and targeted solicitations" from child abusers.

As part of the case, Torrez sought to force Meta to overhaul its apps by implementing:

• Effective age-verification technologies
• Altered recommendation algorithms that do not compromise child well-being
• Other modifications resulting in "fundamentally restructuring how Meta is allowed to do business in the state"

Additional Remedies Ordered

Thursday's order also requires Meta to:

• Continue improving "age assurance models and tools in New Mexico" using AI
• Attempt "to develop, within two years, a dedicated under-13-years-of-age prediction model"
• Make it easier to report underage usage
• Partner "with schools or a child safety organization to create a reporting portal where school administrators can flag suspected accounts where users may be under 13 years of age across any social media platform"

Response

Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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