Meta Ordered to Pay $942 Million Over Failure to Protect Children Online

A New Mexico judge has ordered Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Threads, to pay a record $942 million in total after finding the company failed to protect young users and violated state consumer protection law. The ruling adds a new $567 million penalty on top of $375 million in fines a jury had already assessed against the company in March.

Judge Bryan Biedscheid described Meta's platforms as a "public nuisance," comparing the company to a factory whose product causes harmful side effects that spread beyond its own walls into schools, hospitals, and families. The court ordered Meta to remove public "like" counts for minors unless a parent approves otherwise, pause push notifications to underage users in the state between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m., and cap their platform usage at 90 hours a month — roughly three hours a day. Of the total penalty, $420 million is earmarked specifically for treatment services aimed at young people.

Meta said it disagrees with the ruling and plans to appeal, maintaining that it invests heavily in youth-safety tools. Industry observers noted the fine, while historic, represents a small fraction of Meta's revenue — the company posted $61 billion in revenue for the April-to-June quarter alone. Even so, commentators described the ruling as a signal that regulators and courts worldwide are moving toward tougher accountability for social media platforms over child safety, a trend already visible this same week in Azerbaijan's own new rules governing children's social media registration and platform age restrictions.