A $567 million second-phase order

A New Mexico court has ordered Meta to pay $567 million to address harms to young people linked to Facebook and Instagram, adding a major financial remedy to a case that has already produced hundreds of millions of dollars in civil penalties.

Judge Bryan Biedscheid ordered that $420 million go toward treatment services for young people. The remaining money is intended for awareness, prevention, screening and other costs over the next five years.

Total liability reaches $942 million

The new order comes on top of $375 million in civil penalties awarded by a jury in March. Together, the two phases leave Meta responsible for $942 million in the New Mexico case, according to the Associated Press.

The earlier jury found that the company had knowingly harmed children's mental health and concealed information about child sexual exploitation on its platforms. Meta disputes the case and has said it will appeal the latest ruling.

Changes to Facebook and Instagram

The remedy goes beyond payments. The court ordered Facebook and Instagram to display information about protection tools and best practices more clearly and to continue improving age-assurance systems used in New Mexico.

Meta must also try to develop a dedicated model for predicting whether a user is under 13 within the next two years. When its systems estimate that an account belongs to a child, the company can be required to seek proof of age and apply the appropriate protections until the user verifies it.

The ruling reaches beyond money: it requires Meta to change how younger users are identified, informed and protected on Facebook and Instagram in New Mexico.

Schools get a reporting route

The company must work with schools or a child-safety organisation on a portal that allows school staff to flag users who may be under 13. It must delete personal information collected from users it determines are below that age and report twice a year on its compliance with the court-ordered measures.

The judge also addressed limits imposed by federal children's privacy law, which restricts the collection of personal data from children under 13. That means age assurance has to balance stronger identification with rules designed to limit data collection from minors.

Meta prepares an appeal

Meta said it works to keep users safe, argued that claims against it misrepresent its record and vowed to appeal. The legal process therefore remains active even as the order sets out a detailed five-year programme of remedies.

The case is significant because it links financial liability with specific product and compliance changes. The next phase will test how much of the order takes effect during the appeal and whether similar state cases pursue the same model of platform reform.