New Mexico Court Orders Meta To Pay $942 Million Over Harm To Children

This news doesn't have anything to do with home energy upgrades or rebates, so there's nothing here for you to act on around your house. It's a legal case involving Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram.

A New Mexico court ordered Meta to pay $942 million after a jury found the company violated state consumer protection laws by building products that harmed children's mental health and by hiding what it knew about risks like child sexual exploitation on its platforms. The total includes $375 million from an earlier phase of the trial and $567 million ordered this week, with $420 million of that going toward treatment services for young people in New Mexico and the rest toward prevention, screening, and related programs over the next five years. The judge also ordered Meta to improve age-verification tools, build clearer safety information screens, partner with schools to flag underage users, and delete data collected on children under 13.

Meta says it disagrees with the ruling and plans to appeal. The company faces similar lawsuits in other states, including an ongoing trial in Tennessee and an upcoming one in California, as part of a broader wave of litigation from 40 states over social media's effects on children.