New Mexico court orders Meta to pay $567 million more in child safety case

In short: A New Mexico judge ordered Meta to pay an additional $567 million and to change how its apps work for users under 18.

What happened

A judge in New Mexico ordered Meta, the company behind Facebook and Instagram, to pay a $567 million fine in a child safety case. This is on top of a $375 million fine ordered in March. The total fines in this case are now $942 million.

The court order also tells Meta to make specific changes to its platforms. It calls for removing Like counts, and only showing those numbers to people under 18 if a parent or guardian approves. Like counts are the public numbers that show how many people tapped “Like” on a post (like a scoreboard for attention).

The judge also ordered Meta to pause push notifications for underage users between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. Push notifications are the pop-up alerts that try to pull you back into an app, like a doorbell that keeps ringing. The order also says underage users’ time on Meta’s platforms should be limited to 90 hours per month, which is about three hours per day.

The judge said many people in New Mexico are harmed by risks including sexual exploitation, school disruption, and negative mental health effects. The judge said Meta’s platforms are a significant part of the problem, even if they are not the only cause. Meta said it plans to appeal.

Why it matters

This ruling does not just involve money. It also pushes for practical limits on features that can encourage frequent checking and long screen time, especially for teenagers. The case could influence how other states, and possibly other courts, deal with child safety concerns on social media.

Source: TechCrunch AI