Meta fined $567m in largest child safety ruling against social media giant

What the report says

A New Mexico judge has ordered Meta to pay an additional $567m in a child-safety case, bringing the total penalty in the lawsuit to $942m. The ruling, reported by BBC World News, is the latest and largest financial sanction the company has faced over allegations that its platforms harmed children.

Judge Bryan Biedscheid said the owner of Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp and Threads failed to warn users and the public about risks tied to its services. He went further in describing the company’s role, saying the impact of its platforms amounted to a public nuisance. The court also directed the money into a fund intended to reduce future harms.

The case was brought by New Mexico state attorneys in 2023. In earlier proceedings, the judge found Meta had violated the state’s Unfair Practices Act and that its recommendation systems had steered young users toward harmful content and contact with sexual predators. Meta had previously said it would appeal an earlier $375m award in the same case.

The decision adds to wider scrutiny of social media firms over child safety. More generally, cases like this have raised questions about how platform design, automated recommendations and content moderation affect young users, and whether state consumer protection laws can be used to hold tech companies liable for online harms.