Court orders Instagram and Facebook's Meta to pay $567M to address kids' mental health online
- A New Mexico court has ordered Meta to pay $567 million to address harms to young people from its platforms.
- The majority of the payment, $420 million, will be allocated for treatment services for young people.
- This ruling adds to a previous $375 million civil penalty against Meta for knowingly harming children's mental health.
- The court also mandated changes to Meta's platform to improve age verification and prevent child exploitation.
- Meta plans to appeal the ruling.
A New Mexico court has ordered Instagram and Facebook's parent company Meta to pay $567 million to address the harms caused to young people by its platforms. The ruling was made by Judge Bryan Biedscheid, who stated that the majority of the funds, amounting to $420 million, will be used for treatment services for young people over the next five years.
This decision is in addition to a previous civil penalty of $375 million imposed on Meta in March, after it was determined that the company knowingly harmed children's mental health and concealed information about child sexual exploitation on its platforms. Prosecutors in the case had requested fundamental changes at Meta to curb addictive features and improve age verification processes.
Despite the significant financial penalty, which totals $942 million, analysts noted that this amount represents a small fraction of Meta's annual profit, which was approximately $60 billion in 2025. Following the ruling, Meta's stock experienced a slight decline in after-hours trading, reflecting a neutral market response to the news. Meta has indicated its intention to appeal the court's decision, asserting its commitment to safety on its platforms.
法院命令Instagram和Facebook母公司Meta支付5.67亿美元以应对儿童心理健康问题
新墨西哥州法院已命令Instagram和Facebook的母公司Meta支付5.67亿美元，以应对其平台对年轻人造成的伤害。该裁决由布莱恩·比德施海德法官作出，他表示大部分资金，即4.2亿美元，将用于未来五年内年轻人的治疗服务。
这一决定是在对Meta处以3.75亿美元民事罚款的基础上作出的，因其被认定明知对儿童心理健康造成伤害并隐瞒有关儿童性剥削的信息。案件中的检察官要求对Meta进行根本性的更改，以遏制上瘾特性并改善年龄验证流程。
尽管这一重大财务罚款总额达到9.42亿美元，但分析人士指出，这一金额仅占Meta 2025年约600亿美元年利润的一小部分。在裁决后，Meta的股票在盘后交易中略有下跌，反映出市场对这一消息的中性反应。Meta已表示计划对法院的裁决提出上诉，重申其对平台安全的承诺。