Meta fined $942 million over harm to children's mental health

A court in New Mexico, United States, has fined technology company Meta a total of $942 million over allegations of causing mental harm to children and increasing their risk of sexual exploitation. Earlier, $375 million was imposed in the same case. With the latest additional fine of $567 million, the total penalty now stands at $942 million.

Judge Bryan Biedscheid of New Mexico delivered the ruling. According to his order, the additional $567 million must be deposited into a special fund, which will be used for children's mental health, rehabilitation, and programmes aimed at reducing social harm.

In his ruling, the judge said Meta's platforms have created an environment for children that has long-term negative effects on society. He compared Meta to a polluting factory, saying that just as industrial pollution harms public health, harmful content and algorithms on social media adversely affect children's mental well-being, families, the education system and law enforcement.

In 2023, New Mexico's attorneys filed a lawsuit against Meta. The complaint alleged that platforms like Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads are exposing children to sexual predators and harmful content. The court observed that Meta's recommendation algorithms are pushing underage users towards risky and harmful content.

In the second phase of the ruling, the court described the situation as a 'public nuisance'. This is believed to be the first time a social media company has been identified as creating a public nuisance in the context of child safety.

According to the court's directive, a significant portion of the fine will be spent on treatment for affected children, mental health services, behavioural health programmes, and training for teachers, doctors and related professionals.

The ruling also imposed several mandatory safety measures on Meta. These include: not recommending accounts of users under 18 to any adult, stopping personal messages from adults to minors, preventing the exchange of nude content among minors, and implementing a 'one-strike' policy against adult users involved in sexual exploitation.

Additionally, Meta has been ordered to stop displaying 'like' counts for minors between 10pm and 7am, stop push notifications during school hours (8am to 3pm), and enforce usage limits for those who use Facebook or Instagram for over 90 hours per month or an average of more than three hours per day.

In response to the ruling, a Meta spokesperson said the company disagrees with the court's decision and will appeal to a higher court. They claimed the company has been consistently working to ensure safety for children and teens and to detect and remove harmful content.

Meta is currently facing thousands of child safety-related lawsuits across the US. Earlier this year, the company lost a similar case in Los Angeles. Next week, another major trial is set to begin in California over allegations of violating children's privacy laws, with attorneys general from about three dozen US states expected to participate.