A New Mexico court issued a significant ruling against Meta on Thursday, ordering the company to establish additional safeguards for users under 18 on its Facebook and Instagram platforms. Judge Bryan Biedscheid imposed a $567 million fine and mandated several protective measures, including a 90-hour monthly time limit for minors, restrictions on AI chatbots, and mandatory safety warnings. This ruling supplements an earlier March judgment in which a jury ordered $375 million in civil penalties against Meta after determining the company knowingly harmed children’s mental health and concealed knowledge about child sexual exploitation on its platforms.
The court-ordered protections represent a notable development in ongoing litigation against Meta over youth safety. The judge’s requirements include enhanced age verification systems and a prohibition on recommending minors’ accounts to unconnected adults or allowing such adults to message children. Additionally, the ruling mandates that “like counts” be hidden by default on accounts belonging to users under 18, with parental override as the only exception. However, the company announced plans to appeal the decision and stated no timeline for implementation.
Legal experts noted several limitations to the ruling’s practical impact. The measures apply exclusively to New Mexico residents, and implementing effective age verification poses technical and legal challenges, particularly given federal privacy protections under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. Additionally, the judge declined to restrict widely used platform features such as autoplay, infinite scroll, and algorithmic recommendations, reasoning that restricting Meta’s features while competitors retain them would create competitive disadvantages.
Advocates expressed optimism that the ruling could establish precedent for other state courts and potentially catalyze federal legislative action. Child safety advocates highlighted the court-supervised implementation as significant, ensuring ongoing evaluation of effectiveness. However, experts cautioned that inconsistent state-level rulings create complications and that comprehensive federal legislation would be more appropriate for regulating technology companies. The decision arrives amid mounting legal and regulatory pressure on Meta to address mental health concerns and exploitation risks for young users.
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