Meta $567 million abatement fund ordered in New Mexico child-safety case

A New Mexico judge has ordered the Meta $567 million abatement fund as a remedy in the state’s child-safety case, according to CNBC and The Wall Street Journal. The fund is separate from $375 million in civil penalties a jury imposed in March, bringing the court-ordered monetary remedies described in the reports to $942 million.

The new fund is a remedial pool intended to finance measures addressing harms found in the case, rather than a new statutory civil penalty. CNBC reported that $420 million is earmarked for treatment of people harmed by Meta’s platforms. The remaining $147 million is to cover awareness and prevention, screening and assessment, referrals and coordination, implementation, quality improvement and evaluation; the reports did not give a further breakdown among those uses.

Judge Bryan Biedscheid issued the order after the case’s bench-trial phase on New Mexico’s public-nuisance claim. CNBC reported that the judge wrote Meta’s social-media platforms were a significant contributing factor to a youth mental-health crisis in the state, based on the substantial evidence presented in the proceeding.

What does Meta’s $567 million abatement fund cover?

The fund is designed to support treatment and related prevention and delivery services. The Wall Street Journal reported that the state had sought $779.5 million for the fund, above the $567 million amount ordered by the court.

The reported remedies also extend to Meta’s product practices in New Mexico. CNBC said the order requires the company to continue improving AI-based age-assurance models and tools in the state and to seek, within two years, to develop a model for predicting whether a user is under 13. It also requires easier reporting of suspected underage use and a partnership with schools or a child-safety organisation on a reporting portal for suspected accounts belonging to children under 13 across social-media platforms.

The Wall Street Journal additionally reported requirements to hide photo “like” counts by default for underage users and publicly disclose risks from using Meta’s platforms on its website.

How does the new order relate to Meta’s earlier penalty?

The $567 million order follows a March jury verdict that found Meta willfully violated New Mexico’s Unfair Practices Act. The New Mexico Department of Justice said the jury found Meta liable on both claims brought by the state and set civil penalties at $5,000 per violation, for a total of $375 million.

Attorney General Raúl Torrez sued Meta in 2023. The Department of Justice said its case alleged that Meta had misled consumers over the safety of its platforms and put children at risk. The public-nuisance phase was scheduled after the jury verdict to consider further monetary and operational remedies.

Meta said after the March verdict that it disagreed with the decision and would appeal, CNBC reported. The available reports do not establish whether Meta has appealed the later remedies order, whether either order has been stayed, or whether the company has made the ordered payments.

This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.