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Judge orders Meta to pay $567 million to address youth mental health harms but spares recommendation algorithms
- A judge ordered Meta to pay $567 million into an abatement fund in New Mexico, in addition to $375 million in civil penalties imposed earlier this year.
- The judge said ordering changes to the recommendation algorithm will go against First Amendment and Section 230.
- Product changes ordered by the court include limiting under-18 users to 90 hours per month across Facebook and Instagram, or roughly 3 hours per day, versus around 5 hours per day shown in Meta’s internal data.
- New Mexico was seeking $953 million in abatement costs.
- Meta said it will appeal the decision.
Assessment
While the product changes were better than expected, extrapolating the $942 million in combined penalties and abatement funding across the 41 states that have sued Meta would imply potential exposure of $38.6 billion. Including claims from around 800 school districts and more than 3,300 individuals could push the theoretical exposure to around $80 billion.
Court ruling filling: 06/08/2026
New Mexico Ruling Outcomes (Notion)