Meta has been ordered by a New Mexico court to pay $567 million and implement sweeping child safety measures on Facebook and Instagram after the company was found to have endangered young users through features designed to maximise engagement.
The decision, delivered on Thursday, comes months after a jury in the same case found the social media giant liable for exposing children and teenagers to online predators and violating the state's consumer protection laws. In March, the jury had imposed an additional $375 million penalty on the company.
The latest ruling is regarded as a landmark decision, making it the first time a US court has held a social media company liable for creating a "public nuisance" over the impact of its platforms on children.
Announcing the outcome, New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez said the judgment sends a strong message that technology companies must be held accountable for practices that put children at risk.
"Today's decision is a victory for every parent who has worried about what social media is doing to their child and every child who deserves to grow up safer online," Torrez said.
He added that the lawsuit was intended to protect children and ensure that companies could no longer profit from business practices that compromise their safety.
The court directed that approximately 75 per cent of the $567 million award be paid into a mental health treatment fund over five years, while the remaining amount will finance child safety awareness programmes and ensure Meta complies with the court's directives.
Judge Bryan Biedscheid also ordered the company to introduce a series of restrictions for users under the age of 18, citing evidence that platform features such as autoplay, infinite scrolling, algorithmic recommendations, push notifications and public "like" counts encourage excessive use among teenagers.
Under the order, Meta must cap usage for minors at 90 hours per month through notification limits, disable certain notifications during school hours and hide "like" counts for younger users.
The company was also instructed to strengthen age verification measures to prevent children under 13 in New Mexico from opening Facebook or Instagram accounts and to submit compliance reports to the court twice each year.
Meta said it would appeal the ruling.
"We disagree with the ruling and will appeal," the company said, insisting that it has invested significantly in protecting teenagers online and rejecting claims that it misled users about the safety of its platforms.
The ruling adds to the legal pressure facing Meta as more than 30 US states pursue similar lawsuits accusing the company of designing addictive social media products that negatively affect children's mental health.
The New Mexico case heard allegations that Meta concealed internal research showing the risks its platforms posed to young users while continuing to use algorithms that increased user engagement.
The company also faces another major legal test next week when a separate child safety lawsuit is scheduled to begin in California.
Meta has recently resolved several related cases through confidential settlements, including lawsuits involving a Kentucky school district and a US teenager, while a Los Angeles jury earlier this year ordered Meta and Google to pay $6 million to a woman who claimed their platforms contributed to mental health harms.
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