A New Mexico judge ruled that Meta must pay over $500 million to the state for claiming to have caused a “public nuisance” and damaged children by creating a social media platform.

However, a jury ruled the company responsible for causing harm to children, including putting them at risk of being targeted by predators on its social media platforms, in a March 2015 verdict that ordered it to pay $375 million in damages to New Mexico.

Meta made no comment on the ruling, but added it would appeal the decision. They “work hard to keep people safe” and have been “transparent” about the difficulties of identifying and removing bad actors and harmful content, they added.

Meta, the company which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, was sued by New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez in 2023 for failing to safeguard minors from being affected negatively in any way through the Internet.

In her closing remarks at the end of the trial, Linda Singer, the prosecutor, informed the jury that Meta’s algorithms were promoting both the content made by minors and adults, and hiding evidence of the damage that it did to minors.

A winner for all parents’

Meta was found liable in March by the jury for fraudulently deceiving consumers about the safety of its platforms for children under the state’s Unfair Practices Act.

The case has always been about protecting children, standing up for families, and ensuring that one of the world’s largest technology companies cannot make millions of dollars without having to suffer any repercussions for its practices that are harmful to children, Torrez said in a statement Thursday.

This victory belongs to every parent who is worried about how social media may affect their children and to every child that needs to become a healthier social media user.

The proposed mental health fund would have to be allocated towards mental health care and would consist of $567 million distributed throughout five years.

The other part is allocated to “awareness and prevention” programmes, “screening and assessment” programmes, “referral, linkage and coordination” programmes, and programmes for implementing and evaluating.

Meta will also have to report to the court twice a year on progress it’s making in meeting its obligations.