New Mexico Court Orders Meta to Pay $567 Million in Public Nuisance Lawsuit

▲ Meta

A court in New Mexico, USA, has ordered Meta Platforms, the operator of Facebook and Instagram, to pay 567 million dollars (approx. 800 billion won) in damages after ruling that the company had a negative impact on children's mental health.

Judge Brian Biedscheid of the First Judicial District Court in Santa Fe, New Mexico, ruled that Meta caused a "public nuisance," ordering the company to pay damages and implement youth safety measures, Reuters and CNBC reported on the 6th local time.

The youth safety measures include limiting monthly usage time on Facebook and Instagram for teenagers, restricting notifications, tightening controls on adults contacting minors, establishing safeguards for artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots, and strengthening reviews of child sexual abuse reports.

New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torres, a Democrat and the plaintiff in the case, accused Meta of designing its products to addict young users and failing to protect children from child sexual exploitation on its platforms.

In the ruling, Judge Biedscheid stated, "While Meta is not the only company in this regard, substantial evidence presented in this case shows that Meta's social media platforms are a major contributing factor to the severe mental health crisis among New Mexico youths."

The orders for damages and youth safety measures are effective for five years.

Meta stated that it will appeal the ruling and that it has worked to identify and remove harmful content.

In a statement, Meta emphasized, "We are confident in our track record of protecting teens online and will continue to defend against claims that distort the facts."

Previously in March, a New Mexico state court jury in a separate trial concluded that Meta violated New Mexico's consumer protection laws by providing false information regarding the safety of teenagers on Facebook and Instagram, verdicts requiring Meta to pay 375 million dollars (approx. 533 billion won) in damages.

This case specifically addresses whether Meta's social media caused a "public nuisance."

Currently, numerous similar lawsuits regarding the negative impacts of social media on adolescents are being filed across the United States, drawing significant attention.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)

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