--- title: "Meta Ordered to Pay $567 Million, Make Sweeping Changes After Judge Rules It Created 'Public Nuisance' With Facebook, Instagram" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/295179643.md" description: "A New Mexico judge ruled Meta created a public nuisance by harming children's mental health on Facebook and Instagram, ordering the company to pay $567 million and implement sweeping safety changes for minors. These changes include usage limits and stricter adult-minor contact controls. Meta plans to appeal the decision, citing its existing safety investments. This follows a previous jury award of $375 million in damages." datetime: "2026-08-07T01:59:42.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/295179643.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/295179643.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/295179643.md) --- # Meta Ordered to Pay $567 Million, Make Sweeping Changes After Judge Rules It Created 'Public Nuisance' With Facebook, Instagram On Thursday, **Meta Platforms, Inc.** (NASDAQ:META) was ordered to pay $567 million and implement sweeping changes to **Facebook** and **Instagram** for young users after a New Mexico judge ruled the company contributed to harming children’s mental health and safety. ## **Judge Orders Sweeping Changes to Facebook and Instagram** New Mexico state Judge **Bryan Biedscheid** ruled that Meta created a “public nuisance” in the state, Reuters reported. The judge sided with Attorney **General Raúl Torrez** in a lawsuit accusing the social media giant of designing Facebook and Instagram in ways that encourage excessive use among young people while failing to adequately protect them from sexual exploitation. As part of the ruling, Meta must pay $567 million and comply with a five-year court order requiring significant changes to how its platforms operate for minors in New Mexico. The decree requires Meta to impose monthly limits on teens’ use of Facebook and Instagram, restrict engagement-driven notifications and tighten controls on contact between adults and minors. It also mandates additional safeguards for AI chatbots interacting with young users and enhanced review procedures for reports involving child sexual abuse. **Read Also: Chamath Palihapitiya Says Meta Is Playing 'Scorched Earth' With AI Pricing— Its $0.69 Model Just Proved It Works** ## **Meta Plans to Appeal Ruling** Meta said it intends to appeal the decision, arguing it has invested heavily in teen safety and content moderation. “We ⁠remain confident in our record of protecting teens online and will continue to defend ourselves against claims that misrepresent the facts,” the company said in a statement. Meta did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comment. **Case Marks Latest Legal Setback For Meta** The latest ruling follows the first phase of the case in March, when a jury found Meta violated New Mexico’s consumer protection law by misrepresenting the safety of Facebook and Instagram for younger users. The jury awarded $375 million in damages. The second phase, decided solely by the judge after three weeks of testimony, focused on whether Meta’s platforms constituted a “public nuisance” under state law. Biedscheid ultimately concluded they did. **Price Action:** Meta shares closed Thursday up 0.19% at $589.90 and edged down 0.08% to $589.44 in after-hours trading, according to Benzinga Pro. According to **Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings**, Meta scores in the 70th percentile for Growth, although the stock has lagged across the short, medium and long term. **_Disclaimer_:** _This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors._ **Read Also: Meta Joins OpenAI and Anthropic in AI Cybersecurity Scare After Model Hacks Third Party: 'We Are Currently Investigating…'** _Photo Courtesy: 24K-Production on Shutterstock.com_ ### Related Stocks - [META.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/META.US.md) - [METW.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/METW.US.md) - [FBL.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/FBL.US.md) - [METU.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/METU.US.md) - [METD.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/METD.US.md) - [FBY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/FBY.US.md) - [FBYY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/FBYY.US.md) - [MAGX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MAGX.US.md) - [OpenAI.NA](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/OpenAI.NA.md) ## Related News & Research - [Meta says its AI model hacked another company, adding to worries about bots going rogue](https://longbridge.com/en/news/295141974.md) - [Meta Asks Engineers to Use MetaCode as It Tries to Catch Up with Anthropic and OpenAI](https://longbridge.com/en/news/294998546.md) - [Private Client Services LLC Cuts Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META](https://longbridge.com/en/news/294943992.md) - [Stableford Capital II LLC Raises Holdings in Meta Platforms, Inc. $META](https://longbridge.com/en/news/294944023.md) - [LiveRamp adds Meta data to Cross-Media Intelligence measurement platform](https://longbridge.com/en/news/294824633.md)