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 funds, $420 million, will be allocated for treatment services for young people.
- This ruling is in addition to a previous $375 million civil penalty imposed on Meta in March.
- Meta is also required to implement changes to improve age verification and prevent child exploitation.
- The total amount Meta is responsible for now stands at $942 million, which is a small fraction of its annual profit.
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, made by Judge Bryan Biedscheid, allocates $420 million for treatment services aimed at young people, while the remainder will be used for awareness, prevention, and screening services over the next five years.
This penalty adds to the $375 million in civil penalties that were previously ordered against Meta in March after a jury found that the company knowingly harmed children's mental health and concealed information regarding child sexual exploitation on its platforms. The total financial responsibility for Meta now amounts to $942 million, which represents a small fraction of its annual profit of approximately $60 billion in 2025.
In response to the ruling, New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez stated that it sends a clear message that companies will be held accountable for product designs that knowingly put children at risk. Meta has expressed its intention to appeal the decision, asserting that it works hard to keep users safe and is transparent about the challenges it faces in identifying harmful content.
法院命令Instagram和Facebook母公司Meta支付5.67亿美元以改善儿童心理健康
新墨西哥州法院命令Instagram和Facebook的母公司Meta支付5.67亿美元，以改善其平台对年轻人造成的危害。法官布莱恩·比德希德的裁决将4.2亿美元分配用于年轻人的治疗服务，其余资金将在未来五年内用于意识提升、预防和筛查服务。
这一处罚是对Meta在三月份被判处的3.75亿美元民事罚款的补充，陪审团发现该公司故意危害儿童心理健康并隐瞒有关儿童性剥削的信息。Meta目前需承担的总金额为9.42亿美元，这只是其2025年约600亿美元年利润的一小部分。
对此裁决，新墨西哥州检察长劳尔·托雷斯表示，这传达了一个明确的信息，即公司将对其产品设计中故意将儿童置于风险中的行为负责。Meta表示将对这一决定提起上诉，坚称其努力确保用户安全，并对识别有害内容所面临的挑战保持透明。