A court in New Mexico has ordered Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, to pay $567 million into a fund addressing harms to children's mental health caused by its social media platforms. The ruling, handed down Thursday by Judge Bryan Biedscheid, marks the second phase of a landmark trial that began in March, when a jury became the first in the United States to find Meta civilly liable for knowingly harming children's mental health and concealing internal findings about child sexual exploitation on its platforms. That earlier verdict imposed a $375 million penalty; the combined total Meta now faces in New Mexico stands at $942 million.

The bulk of the newly ordered $567 million — $420 million — will be directed toward mental health treatment services for young people in New Mexico over the next five years. The remainder will fund awareness and prevention programmes, screening services, and administrative costs. Beyond the financial penalty, Judge Biedscheid imposed a series of structural changes to Meta's platforms. The company must improve age-assurance tools using artificial intelligence — drawing on signals such as a user's friend network and content habits — and attempt to develop a dedicated model to identify users under 13 within two years. Meta must treat any user it estimates to be under 13 as such until age is verified, delete personal data collected on under-13 users, and partner with schools or child safety organisations to create staff reporting portals. Push notifications and usage for users under 18 will be capped at 90 hours per month, and