Facebook parent Meta slapped with massive $567M penalty over youth mental health crisis
- Meta has been ordered to pay a $567 million fine in New Mexico for inflicting harm on young people with Instagram and Facebook, bringing the total penalty against the company to $942 million.
- The New Mexico ruling allocates $420 million of the new funds to youth treatment services, with the remaining amount covering awareness, prevention, and screening costs over five years.
- The court mandated Meta to implement changes, including displaying informational screens about protection features, improving age assurance tools, and developing an “under-13-years-of-age prediction model” within two years.
- Meta is also required to request proof of age for suspected underage users in New Mexico, partner with schools for a reporting portal for potential under-13 users, and delete personal information collected from users under 13.
- Despite the substantial penalty, Meta, which plans to appeal, faces an “avalanche of lawsuits” from thousands of families and an upcoming federal trial in California regarding its platforms’ impact on youth mental health.
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